


A Sweet Dream or an Emerald Nightmare?

by Alipally



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-14
Updated: 2014-01-14
Packaged: 2018-01-08 18:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1136103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alipally/pseuds/Alipally
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Warlock suffers nightmares caused by events in her past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Sweet Dream or an Emerald Nightmare?

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place and was originally written prior to the Cataclysm expansion, and just before the fall of Arthas in Wrath of the Lich King.

Part 1 The Dream

She was back at the farm, and the Worgen were coming. She ran away as fast as she could, but her legs moved as if encased in ice. She heard the sound of pursuit drawing ever closer, but dared not look behind her. Soon the Worgen would catch her, as they always did, and she would die. She heard the pounding feet drawing nearer. She heard the panting breath getting louder and louder. A form rose in front of her, blocking off her escape. She looked up as the furry body towered over her, huge paws reached out for her, and she was smothered by the massive forelegs. She waited for the bite, the slash of claws, the pain. But nothing happened. Instead, the fear was gone. She felt safe. 

She awoke in a cold sweat. The nightmare. The same one she had suffered for the last 4 years.  
There was something different about it, though. Something not right. She struggled to remember just what had happened this time. Yes, a large Worgen. It had caught her, and yet it had not ripped her apart. Why not? The nightmare always ended in her death, but for the very first time, she had survived. It was weird. 

The crackle of the fire brought comfort to her. She sat in front of it and stared into the flames, trying to rid her mind of the dream, but her thoughts turned to Darkshire once more, and she wondered if things were any different there now.  
Here in Shattrath, the struggles of Azeroth seemed very distant. The war against the Lich King still raged, according to the Sha'tar, but now that the Legion had been banished with the cleansing of the Sunwell, the Lich King's fall was inevitable. She had felt her own powers diminish with Kil'jaeden's defeat; surely Arthas had been weakened to an even greater extent.  
Once the war was over, the strife between the Horde and the Alliance would no doubt continue. Maybe Thrall would come to his senses and see the Forsaken for what they truly were, and join the Alliance in wiping them out; she hoped so. As for the Ebon Blade, who could tell what evils they might inflict on the world once Arthas was destroyed? She shrugged. Draenor was her home now. Azeroth could go to the Nether for all she cared. Her thoughts turned to Illidan, as they often did. Although the Aldor had broken her enslavement, she still felt a need to return to Shadowmoon Valley. Would she ever be free of that desire? 

Part 2 Return to Darkshire

She had been observing the Worgen camp for nearly an hour; still nothing stirred. It was deserted.  
She got up from where she had been lying, and brushed the damp earth from her clothes.  
She slowly made her way down to the camp, careful not to slip on the damp moss-covered stones that lay scattered here and there in the undergrowth.  
Close up, it was obvious that the Worgen had not used the camp for some time. The chewed and cracked bones littering the fire pit were dry, and the smell of rotting meat was entirely absent.  
She whirled round as a stone skipped down the hillside, clattering and thudding as it went.  
“Volyap, stop that,” she shouted. The Imp appeared from behind a boulder some way up the slope, feigning innocence but clearly the cause of the stone's noisy journey.

Laurasha sighed, and turned towards the mine entrance. The dark hole stared back at her malevolently. Perhaps the Worgen were inside? No, they couldn't be, but there could be worse things in there.  
“Come on, Imp. Make yourself useful and lead the way.”  
The Imp jumped and cartwheeled into the mine, it's fire providing some illumination as it went ahead. As Laurasha followed, she felt a cool draft blowing towards her, moist but free of odour; a good sign.

The floor beneath her feet was wet and muddy. To one side lay a small mine cart, rusted and rotten, abandoned long ago. The tunnel continued ahead of her into the darkness, and she followed the dancing imp into the depths.  
Suddenly she tripped, and went sprawling on her face in the dirt. There was a stabbing pain in her left knee, and she sat in silence, eyes closed, with her face screwed up in pain, while she waited for the throbbing to subside. She ran her hand over her kneecap, expecting to find a bone protruding, or a gaping wound, but there was nothing. She would have a nasty bruise in the morning, but little else. In the meantime, Volyap had continued to move ahead, and was now some distance from her.  
“Wait for me, will you?” she cried, annoyed that the imp hadn't even noticed her fall, but the imp continued to dance ahead and was suddenly gone.  
“That's just great. Now I can't see a thing.” She reached into her pack, and rummaged around until her hand struck a small globe.  
“Here we are. Who needs imps anyway?”  
She pulled the globe out of her pack and muttered a phrase in Demonic. The globe became warm in her hand, and a bright light shone from it. Fire elementals had their uses, even one as small as this.  
She stood up, and continued on, favouring her sore knee as she hobbled along.  
After some five minutes she still hadn't caught up to the imp, and was starting to get worried, even though she knew he was unharmed;, for she could sense him up ahead.  
“Volyap, come back here right now, you little monster,” she shouted into the darkness. A deep growl echoed down the tunnel, and she froze. She didn't know if the growl had come from in front of her, or from behind.  
“Please, not Worgen, anything but Worgen.” she mumbled to herself. The urge to run back down the tunnel was intense, but if Worgen were between her and the entrance, then she would be running towards them, not away from them. She considered extinguishing the fire globe, but she daren't. Standing in the darkness while some monstrosity crept up on her was too frightening a thought. She decided to press on into the tunnel. Volyap was somewhere up ahead. Once she was with him, she would feel safer.  
As she moved forward, she heard the sound of claws on the rocks behind her, and the splash of feet in the puddles of water on the muddy cave floor. It was all too much for her. It was just like her nightmare come to life. 

She ran heedlessly down the tunnel in panic, the splash of her own footsteps obscuring any sound of pursuit from behind her. She turned round as she ran, to see if she could see her foe behind her. She saw nothing, but as she turned again, she ran into a wall and was knocked to the ground, stunned.  
She lay on the floor in a daze,not quite sure what had happened. It was pitch black; the globe had fallen from her hand and gone out. She scrabbled round, desperate to find it, aware that something was approaching fast in the darkness, something big, something dangerous. Her hand closed on the globe and the light awoke in it, just in time for her to see a gigantic Worgen appear from the tunnel behind her.  
“No,” she shouted, and scrambled to her knees, but a giant paw knocked her down before she could reach her feet. The Worgen looked down at her, saliva dripping from its mouth, and she waited helplessly for the inevitable. Suddenly, a low growl echoed from the darkness. The Worgen looked up, and a large cat leapt over Laurasha and took the Worgen by the throat. The cat raked the Worgen's stomach with its back legs and its sharp teeth chewed at its throat. The Worgen fought back desperately, but as each second passed, its struggles became weaker, until finally, the Worgen was dead.  
The cat turned to Laurasha, blood covered its head and paws. Its mouth opened, and she was astonished when it spoke.  
“Help me. Help me, Laurasha, help me escape from the Nightmare.”  
“Who are you?” she said, stunned.  
“Do you not know me?” the cat replied. “Seek for me in Darkshire, hurry.”

Consciousness returned. She was in her bed, in Shattrath. She sighed in relief. She had been dreaming again, of the Worgen, as she always did. She had dreamt of the Worgen, yes, but something was different this time. What was it? She struggled to remember. Something to do with Darkshire. The cat! It had told her to go back to Darkshire, and then...what? Darkshire, her home. She couldn't go back there, not now, not ever. She was an outcast. It had been almost four years since she had left, or rather, been told to leave or face imprisonment and death. There was nothing to go back for, nothing. The image of the large cat came to her mind, its eyes staring into hers, telling her to return to Darkshire. Why? It was connected to her nightmares, somehow, and the answer lay in Darkshire, she was sure of it. A trip to Darkshire. Yes, maybe it was time to go back. Time to lay some old ghosts to rest.

Part 3 Return to Darkshire once more

She looked around her slowly. It was hard to believe that this had once been her home. Both the farmhouse and the nearby barn had been completely destroyed. Weeds and creepers had done their best to cover up the remains, but it would be years before the evidence of the slaughter that had taken place here would be buried completely. Scattered across the farmyard lay the bones of the former occupants; the remnants a grim reminder of events that had occurred nearly two years ago. Many of the bones bore teeth marks, and others had been crushed or snapped with tremendous force.

Her thoughts slipped back in time, back to when Zardeth had saved her from suicide; when he had offered her a chance for revenge. She had learned well from the Black Claw cultists, so well that Zardeth had written a letter of recommendation, and she had presented it in person to Master Gandling of the Scholomance. For a year she had studied the ways of evil in that frightening place. She had learnt to summon and enslave demons, how to use the powers of the Legion to cause suffering and misery. She had practised the art of sacrifice, both demonic and human, but she had chosen her sacrificial victims from amongst her fellow students, rather than from the innocents held prisoner in the Scholomance's basements. She thought it fitting. When Gandling learnt of it he laughed, for he mistook her hatred of the Scourge and all of its servants to be a desire for power, power to serve the undead King.  
In time Gandling began to see her as a threat, and she left the Scholomance before he could order her death. Fleeing from the servants of the Scholomance, she sought refuge at Light's Hope Chapel, but the Argent Dawn took her to be one of the Scourge, and she barely escaped them with her life.  
She made her way south through the Alterac mountains, and ended up in Southshore, where she took passage on a boat to Stormwind. There she remained for awhile with the Black Claw, but her journey was not yet over.

On a cold autumn morning, she packed her belongings, and left the city behind. That evening she arrived in Sentinel Hill, and stayed at the inn until the following day, before making her way to the western borders of Duskwood, where she set her camp and made her plans.  
She came to the farm at night, much as the Worgen had done when she had lived there with her father. Now she was the monster, and the Worgen the prey. Strange how fate could turn things around in so short a time. The rain masked her approach, and the Worgen had grown careless. They thought themselves safe in their new home; there was no guard. She set the barn alight with a rain of fire, and the hellish green flames ate greedily into the wood, devouring it so quickly that those inside had no chance of escape. There must have been a dozen or more Worgen inside the barn; the fire consumed them.  
Next she unleashed her demons on the occupants of the farmhouse. The succubus Naztai lured the Worgen to her with her mesmerising stare before sucking out their souls. Thogmonn, the raging Voidwalker, crushed and tore them limb from limb, while the Felhunter Brufenn ripped apart their flesh with its razor sharp teeth, and devoured them while they still lived. Those that escaped her demons, she made suffer with curses of agony and spells of searing pain until she finally killed them with clouds of corruption that ate their bodies from the inside out. 

Not one Worgen escaped alive. She had had her revenge, but it was not enough. She stood motionless in the farmyard, her tears mingling with the rain. The flames of the burning barn rose ever higher, and the shadows danced round her as the flames roared.  
“Destroy it, destroy all of it,” she shouted. and as the Voidwalker began to tear down the walls, she screamed uncontrollably, and she did not stop screaming, even when her voice broke and no sound came forth. Those Worgen who came to investigate the blaze fled at the sight of the terrible Banshee who had destroyed their brethren. Finally she collapsed face down in the mud. It was over.

The next day, a curious Night Elf spied on the devastated farm from a nearby tree. He had been drawn by the thin smudge of smoke that still rose from the smouldering barn, and had found paw prints leading to and from the scene. After observing the ruins for some time, he made the following deduction; the farm had been attacked by a marauding band of Worgen during the night. The occupants had fought back before the Worgen had torn down the farmhouse walls and killed the defenders. The beasts had then turned on each other as they fought over the remains. The surviving Worgen had left before dawn and were long gone. 

His curiosity almost satisfied, Onalesamkin would have left soon after, but he could see a body lying in the farmyard, and he found it strange that the Worgen had left it behind. He needed to know why. As he approached, he saw the body was that of a human female. He knelt down beside her and gently turned her over; she was cold to the touch. He could see no obvious wounds on her body, but there were some strange black blotches on her skin. Probably died of fear, he thought. He wiped the mud gently from her face. With a shock, he realised she was still breathing, but only just. For a moment he considered leaving her there to die. It was the will of Cenarius to let nature take its course. But then, the Worgen were not native to this place; they disrupted the balance of life; they shouldn't be here. He took the decision to take her back with him. The others were not too far away. If she was still alive when he got there, they would tend to her; if not, her body would be returned to the earth.

Laurasha sighed. She had no memory of her rescue, and only dimly could she remember her treatment by the Elves in the days that followed. She owed her life to Onalesamkin and his friends, and yet he had died at the hands of the Scourge in Northrend a few years later, and she had not been there to help him. She gazed at the scattered Worgen bones and the piles of rubble that remained of her former home. She felt a strange emptiness. If the answers to her nightmares lay in Darkshire, she would have to seek them elsewhere.  
“Come on, Volyap, there is nothing for us here now,” she said, quietly. The imp followed her down the old cart track that led back to the main road, pausing now and again to play with a broken bone, but his mistress strode on, never looking back, and Volyap hurried to catch her before she got too far ahead.

Part 4 A decision made

Laurasha sat staring into a small fire. Her knees were drawn up to her chin, and she hugged herself to keep warm. She had been in Duskwood for nearly a month, and had nothing to show for her efforts, save sore feet and wet clothes. 'Seek for me in Darkshire.' She was fed up with seeking. She had had her fill of it the last few weeks. She sighed in frustration and threw a stick onto the fire. The whole thing had been a waste of time. The nightmares had continued, but she was no closer to ending them than she had been in Shattrath.

Over the past few weeks she had searched abandoned Worgen camps, and found nothing. She had searched for mines and caves, and found them, but none of them were like the one in her nightmares. She had encountered Worgen as well, and had done her best to avoid the larger gangs. They were afraid of her and her demons, but even so, she had not risked any confrontation. She had moved gradually from west to east, hoping to find a clue or a sign, anything to tell her that her return to Duskwood wasn't just a wild goose chase, but it had been a fruitless journey.

The weather had turned colder, and that morning drizzle had started to fall, seemingly without end.  
She had been forced to seek shelter in one of the caves she had been searching, and after getting a fire going, she had watched the rain fall incessantly for the rest of the day. It was no good. The bad weather, the cold, and her lack of progress were getting her down. She came to a decision; the search was over. In the morning she would return home. She smiled wryly at the irony. She had lived in these woods most of her life, and yet home to her now was another world. As for the nightmares, she would have to find another solution, or just accept that she would never be free from them.  
She pulled a blanket from her pack and made herself more comfortable. Thogmonn guarded the cave mouth; there would be no Worgen to trouble her sleep, at least not in the real world. As she began to doze, she thought heard a small child crying. She sat up to listen, but there was no sound, save for the dripping of water and the crackle of the fire. She lay back down again, closed her eyes, and slowly drifted away.

Part 5 Fire and Water 

She awoke the next morning feeling cold and uncomfortable. The fire had gone out. She got up and dressed; the chill damp air made her shiver as she quickly pulled her clothes on. Her left knee ached, and she rubbed it gingerly. She thought longingly of her comfortable bed in Shattrath. It would be good to get back there.  
“Volyap?” she called. “I thought you were supposed to keep the fire going?” The imp didn't reply. She gathered her things together, and hobbled to the cave mouth. The Imp was sitting by the remains of the fire, playing with an unburned branch. “So, any reason you neglected your duties?” she asked him. The Imp looked up at her, then gradually faded away.  
“That's it, run away, why don't you?” she said in exasperation. Demons could not be relied upon, that was for sure. She looked out of the cave. The rain had stopped, but now there was a thick fog instead. She could barely see a dozen yards through it. She pondered which direction to take. East would take her past Darkshire and would mean avoiding the Nightwatch and the Worgen areas; west would eventually lead her to Moonbrook, but it was a much greater distance to travel.

With her current aches and pains, the less distance she had to walk, the better. East it is then, she thought, as she packed her things. She hoisted her pack, and set off, walking parallel to the road as much as she could. The ground was soggy and muddy, and her boots squelched with each footstep. After an hour's walking, her feet felt thoroughly wet through. She considered setting up camp again, and drying her socks and boots, but there didn't seem to be a suitable place to stop, and besides, the sun had failed to break through the fog, and the air was still damp and cold. She trudged on in what she hoped was an easterly direction. Conditions under foot worsened, and lumps of mud clung to her boots, making walking even more tedious.

Eventually she decided that she had had enough. She would use the road; she would rather risk an encounter with the Nightwatch than endure any more misery. She turned south and headed for the road, but the ground in that direction was even boggier than before. Her foot sank into a muddy puddle, and she swore. She pulled her foot free of the mud, turned to go back the way she had come, but the ground could no longer be seen. Water was running across the field in a great sheet, rushing around her on all sides. Had a river broken its banks?

The water was rising, and incredibly quickly. A sense of urgency gripped her. She had to get to higher ground! She ran first in one direction, and then in another, unsure whether she was going the right way. She stopped to get her breath back, clinging to her staff as cold water swirled around her knees. The fog was thicker than ever; even the trees that surrounded her now couldn't be seen from more than a few feet away. She was thoroughly disorientated, and had no idea where she was. The water reached the top of her legs, and he called out for help, hoping against hope that someone would hear her, but there was no reply until a sudden sound took her breath away. There could be no mistake; it was the sound of a child crying.

Part 6 Fog

The noise was a tenuous beacon in the fog, it gave her a direction to head for, if nothing else.  
She waded towards the sound. The water chilled her legs as she pushed forward. She stopped to listen. Yes, the sound could still be heard, but more to her left now. She turned towards it and struggled on, the water reluctant to let her pass. Her muscles ached with the strain, and her left knee felt very tight, complaining every time she forced her leg through the water. She paused for breath. It seemed the water was still rising; either that or she was heading into deeper water. Either way, in a short space of time she would have no option but to start swimming.

The crying seemed nearer than it had before, but perhaps she was only imagining it. She moved on again, but her foot suddenly caught on some unseen obstacle beneath the water, and she fell forward. The weight of her pack dragged her under the surface, and she struggled to get her head above water. She shrugged off the pack and stood up, the water lapping around her waist. The pack was now waterlogged and too heavy to carry. Reluctantly she decided to abandon it. She let it go and it sank immediately into the dirty water.  
“Swimming, then,” she said, and began to do just that. The cold water made breathing harder than she expected, but at least it was easier than wading had been. She swam on, with nothing to see except white fog and the dark water just in front of her. The fog was so thick now that she expected to collide with a tree at any second, but nothing broke through the blanket of white in front of her.  
After what seemed a very long time, she paused once again. She could not touch the bottom any more, and had to tread water to stay afloat. The crying had stopped. There was nothing to be heard except for her own laboured breathing.

She called out into the fog. “Hello? Can anyone hear me?” Silence. She called once more, but there was no reply. She started swimming again, but it was impossible to tell in what direction she was heading. Her clothes felt heavy on her body, and the cold water was numbing her limbs. Her boots were weighing her down, so she pulled them off and let them go. She struggled on, but she was getting tired. If she could find a tree to cling to, she thought, she could get her breath back, but she had not seen a tree for a long time, or anything else for that matter. Gradually it got dark. The thought of being unable to reach land before nightfall was terrifying, but no matter which way she swam, or how hard, there was only fog.

She wondered if somehow she had been swept out to sea, and was even now getting further and further from land, but she knew that wasn't true. It didn't make any sense. She was in the middle of Darkshire, miles from the sea! By now it was too dark to see anything. She looked upwards in the hope of seeing the moon, but there was nothing. She was very tired, and shivering uncontrollably. She gave up swimming; it was much easier just to be stop and float on her back. She felt very cold and very drowsy.  
Suddenly she was back in her room in Shattrath, looking out of the window across the city. Draenei moved about their business, and the sun shone brightly overhead. As she looked out, she saw a group of Night Elves walking hesitantly towards her home. They approached the front door, and she heard one of them banging on it. She wanted to go and open it, but her legs were heavy and her arms ached when she tried to move. The banging continued for some time. The Elf banging on the door turned to the others, and she saw it was Onalesamkin. 'Why doesn't he come in?' She thought. A Draenei approached the group, and a discussion ensued. The Draenei shook his head, and the others turned to talk amongst themselves. She banged on the window.  
“Ona, I'm here! Ona,” she called, but none of them heard her. Finally they turned around and left.  
She dragged herself to her bed and lay down on it. She was so tired. Sleep would do her good. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep immediately. She dreamt she was drowning.

Part 7 What lies beneath?

A sharp pain in her left knee woke her from the dream. She was under water! In a panic she fought to reach the surface. She felt like she was being strangled by a pair of invisible hands. Stars appeared in front of her eyes, and she heard a rushing noise in her ears. In desperation she mouthed Demonic words, even though no sound came from her lips. Then she lost consciousness.

Gradually awareness returned. It was still too dark to see, but she was lying on her side, and very cold. She was exhausted. The spell had worked then, the spell of water breathing, and somehow she had got out of the water. It was too dark to see anything, and the ground was soft and spongy under her. Her clothes were soaking wet, and icy cold. She reluctantly undressed, and wrung the water out of them out as best she could before dumping them in a pile. She had no more strength left. She lay on the ground, too tired to move. She closed her eyes and lay still. Sleep was not long in coming, but she slept fitfully, her body trembling with exhaustion. 

Some hours later she awoke. It was no longer dark. Her body ached terribly, and she forced herself into a sitting position. She looked around her. The fog had lifted, and it was day. She was in a deep, wooded valley, ringed by mountains. In the centre of the valley, a giant tree grew, towering hundreds of feet into the air, its canopy almost obscuring the sun. Close to the base of the tree she could see a small building, nestled in the dark shadows. No sounds could be heard; no bird calls, no insects, nothing. She struggled to come to terms with her surroundings. Where was she, and what had happened to the flood water? Was she still dreaming? A deep sense of foreboding lay on her as she looked around her. There was something wrong here, something very wrong. 

Part 8 The Eye

She felt sore and ironically very thirsty. Her throat felt raw every time she swallowed. Her left knee was painful, but she could not see or feel any obvious injury. Her hair was matted and dirty, and she was covered in scratches and small bruises. She looked around for her clothes, but they were gone. She sat disconsolate, hugging her knees to her chest, and began to cry. She imagined Onalesamkin coming to her rescue once again, but the image faded quickly; Ona was dead. He was not coming to her aid this time. She realised that she had to get moving. The obvious place to look for help was in the valley below. The building would at least provide shelter, and maybe she would find people down there as well. She staggered to her feet, and began a long and painful walk down the hillside.  
She stopped frequently, trembling with fatigue and exhaustion. Finally she came to a stop, and sat down on the hard ground. She needed to rest. In a moment or two she would get up again, she said to herself, but it was so much easier to just sit still with her eyes closed. Her thoughts wandered. Random images and odd conversations flittered through her consciousness, and abruptly she fell asleep.

A giggle awoke her from the borders of dream. She opened her eyes and realised someone was there. She looked up, and saw a young woman, dressed in a simple white blouse and a dark blue skirt. She had long dark hair, a pretty face and a full figure. In her hand she held a bucket. The girl was so out of place that Laurasha stared at her speechless. Then another figure came and stood beside the woman, but this time it was a young man. He was tall and slim, with a shock of blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and a full mouth. He was clean-shaven, and wore a green shirt and black trousers. He looked down at her intently, and worry lines creased his face.  
“Why aren't you wearing any clothes?” the girl asked, laughing. Laurasha blushed, and pulled her legs up to her chest to cover herself.  
A third figure appeared, and the other two made way for him. She thought at first it was another man, but then she realised it wasn't so. He was an Elf, but not from Kalimdor. He was a High Elf, or maybe a Blood Elf from Draenor. He was no taller than the man standing next to him, yet he seemed to dominate the others entirely. He wore an expensive-looking frilly white shirt, with long cuffs and an open collar that exposed his muscular chest almost to the waist. His trousers were black velvet, tucked into exquisitely hand-tooled leather boots.  
His hair was long and blonde, almost white in colour. His eyes burned brightly, set above high cheek bones and a strong nose. He looked down at her, a slight smile on his lips.  
“Aman'ni Al'shar,” he said. “Odiel aman al'shar nor Osa.” She stared at him, uncomprehending, and then started to cry. 

 

Part 9 Rest

The Elf turned to the girl. “Give her some water, Ehnn.”  
The girl pouted, but reached into her bucket and withdrew a silver ladle brimming with water. She offered it to Laurasha. Laurasha reached out and took it. Slowly she sipped at the cool water. It was the best thing she had tasted for weeks. She found swallowing hard, but drained the ladle and passed it back. 

“We need to get you to the house before nightfall. Vhee will carry you.” The young man moved towards her. He looked down at her, and she was all too aware of her nakedness, and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. “Vhee, give her your shirt, she is cold,” said the Elf, and the young man obligingly undid his shirt and handed it to her. She quickly slipped it on, relieved that it covered her completely. Vhee reached down and effortlessly picked her up and carried her in his arms. Too tired to protest, she put her head against his chest and didn't struggle.  
They strode down the road towards the tree. She realised as the afternoon faded, that she had completely misjudged how big the tree was and how far away the building was too. She could never have walked that far before nightfall. As they made the long journey down the hillside, the tree slowly grew in size, and the small building beneath its leaves grew into a huge palace.  
Despite the distance, Vhee didn't tire. He walked on without a break, and the rhythm of his steps slowly lulled Laurasha into sleep. This time, though, there were no dreams.

She awoke in a strange bedroom. For a few moments, she had no idea how she had gotten there, or where she was. She was lying in a large bed, in a well-furnished room. There were no windows in the walls, but the sun streamed down through a glass ceiling, its harsh glare softened by a canopy of tree branches and leaves far above. Just then the door opened, and the girl named Ehnn came in, carrying a tray.  
“Good morning, Mistress,” she said. “I have brought you your breakfast, but perhaps I should call it lunch, now,” she said petulantly.  
She placed the tray on Laurasha's lap and without a backwards glance left the room.  
“Wait,” Laurasha said, but it was too late, she had gone. She turned her attention back to the tray. There was a selection of fruit, some bread, and a glass of water. Slowly at first, then more enthusiastically, she began to eat. She ate everything that was there. Once she had finished, she put the tray down at the end of the bed, lay back, and closed her eyes. In a few minutes she was once again asleep. When she next awoke, it was dark. She lay awake, listening to the muted rustling of the tree branches outside. Her thoughts passed to the strange Elf and his servants who had rescued her. Just who was he, and where on Azeroth was she? In the morning she would find out.

Part 10 Recovery

She woke late once more. The sun's beams were shining brightly through the roof, dancing here and there as the tree's branches moved gently in the wind. A breakfast tray awaited her on a small table next to her bed. She ate ravenously, savouring each delightful mouthful of food before eagerly moving on to the next one; in minutes the tray was empty. She placed the tray aside, got out of bed, and found a bathroom through an adjacent door. A steaming bath had been prepared, and she took off her nightclothes and got into it, the perfumed waters relaxing her to perfection.  
After returning to her room, she moved to the large wardrobe that dominated the wall opposite the foot of her bed. Opening the door, she found dozens of dresses, and drawers full of clothes, all of extremely high quality. She took out a selection and tried them on, one after another. In the end she chose a pale green dress and a teal belt to go with it. A pair of comfortable leather sandals that she found at the bottom of the wardrobe completed her selection. She checked her appearance in a mirror, and combed her hair with an expensive-looking bone comb she found on the dresser. She was surprised not to find any knots or tangles in her hair considering all that she had been through. Instead her hair shone beautifully as she pulled the brush through it.

She left her room and went in search of the others. She wandered down first one corridor and then another, opening doors onto a variety of rooms, some richly furnished and decorated, others austere or empty. The place was enormous, and she imagined even the Kings of Lordaeron would have been amazed at the number of rooms within it. She finally found a grand staircase leading down, and followed it to a massive entrance hall. Huge tapestries depicted dragons in flight or curled asleep in deep forests. Portraits of unknown men and elves decked the walls.  
A mighty pair of wooden doors barred the entrance, each one towering some twenty feet or more above her head. She found a small handle protruding from the left one, and pushed on it, not expecting anything to happen, but the massive door moved outward to her touch, and she found herself standing outside. She turned back to look at the building. It's green and white façade stretched away to the left and right of the entrance for a hundreds of yards on either side. Numerous windows and ornate pillars decorated the exterior, and the roof was crowded with spheres and strange statues of monsters and wild creatures. 

“It is said that there are over ten thousand rooms in the house.” Startled, she turned round. It was the young man, Vhee.  
“So many?” she said, surprised. “Yes, many people once lived here, but now only the Master is left to guard the temple.”  
She looked into his eyes. She found his handsome features strangely attractive.  
“Er, so where is the Master? I wish to speak with him,” she said, tearing her eyes away from his and fixing her eyes on the house once more.  
“He is in the house, but where I cannot tell you. When he is ready to see you, he will let us know. In the meantime, he has asked me to see to your needs. Is there anything I can do for you?”  
She turned back to him and studied his face. “Where are we?” she asked. “I have lived in Duskwood most of my life, and I do not know this place. How did I get here? ”  
“This is not Duskwood, Mistress. It is Sanctuary. I...” he paused as the girl Ehnn walked up to them.  
“The Master wishes you to know, Mistress, that your evening meal will be ready for six o'clock, so please make your way to the Pearl dining room at that time. Vhee will show you where that is.” She turned to Vhee. “When you are quite finished, there are chores to do. You can follow the Mistress round like a love-sick puppy later.” She made an exaggerated curtsey to Laurasha and left.  
Vhee bowed. “I have to go, but I can answer more of your questions another time.”

She watched him walk away. She liked him; he was good looking, strong, but also gentle and caring. She smiled to herself. Wherever she was, it was so much better than the miserable caves she had been living in the past few weeks. 

Part 11 A Picnic

That night she ate alone in the Pearl dining room. It was so large, that a hundred people could easily have joined her, but she only had Ehnn's company, and as a serving girl, rather than as a dinner companion. Conversation with Ehnn turned out to be tedious and frustrating. The girl either ignored her questions or answered sarcastically. In the end Laurasha gave up trying to be nice to her and ate in silence. The food at least was delicious, and she ate her fill.

The next morning she once again found her breakfast ready for her when she awoke. She spent most of the morning exploring the building in the hope of finding the Master, but it was a fruitless search. She finally gave up looking for him and went outside. It was a beautiful day, and she sat on a small bench, enjoying the peacefulness of the place. She looked around her, taking in the scenery and tried to think just where in Duskwood this could be, and it suddenly hit her; the Twilight Grove.  
Tales were told of a lost path that climbed the wooded mountains that lead to the middle of an ancient valley, where a strange portal opened to other worlds. Great wealth awaited those who could enter the portal, so the stories told. But that great mountain was long-shunned by the people of Darkshire, for the Twilight Grove was known to be the dwelling of an evil dragon, and even the Worgen would not go there. Since the portal in the Blasted Lands had been opened, people had speculated on the legend of the twilight Grove being true, but none had dared to go and find out.

At that moment, she saw Vhee coming towards her. She welcomed him, glad for his company. An idea sprung into her thoughts. If she could find the portal, it would confirm that she really was in the Twilight Grove. As for the dragon, there seemed no sign of that being true at least.  
“Vhee, I would like you to accompany me on a walk, if you have time to spare,” she said. He hesitated, and then replied. “Of course, Mistress, I would be happy to, but are you recovered enough to walk now?”  
“Yes, I feel as good as new,” she said smiling, and it was true. All her aches and pains had gone, and their memory was already just a bad dream.  
“Then I shall fetch some provisions, and we will be on our way,” he said, and went back inside the house.  
A short time later he reappeared, but he was not alone. Ehnn was with him, and she was carrying a basket. “I have brought some things to eat and drink, Mistress. Nothing fancy but sufficient for a picnic later,” she said.  
“Well thank you, Ehnn, that is very nice of you” Laurasha said, and reached for the basket, but Ehnn moved back out of reach.  
“No, it is OK, Mistress. I will carry it for now, and perhaps Vhee can take it from me if it gets too heavy.” She smiled sweetly and stared boldly into Laurasha's eyes, as if daring her to disagree. Laurasha stared back, with the intention of telling Ehnn that she didn't want her company, but as she looked at her, she found herself distracted by Ehnn's eyes. There was something about them, something strange but at the same time very interesting. Quite what she didn't know, but she was fascinated by them. It was like staring into a very deep pool and seeing an object just below the surface, a strange shape. She stared into the black depths...so dark...bottomless...  
“Mistress, are you ready to go?” Vhee's words broke the spell. She turned to face him, confused for a moment.  
“What? Oh, yes, yes of course, let's go.” She frowned and turned back to Ehnn, who merely grinned back at her. Laurasha stood still for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts together. She felt very confused. What had just happened?

They walked for two hours around the vast bole of the tree, and then they stopped to have some lunch. Vhee set out the picnic from the basket, and they sat round it and ate their fill. Afterwards, Laurasha questioned Vhee about the House.  
“Elves once lived there, many years ago, Mistress. Then one day a great madness fell upon them. The master was the only one to survive. Now he guards this valley alone.”  
“Was it the dragon?” Laurasha asked him.  
“Dragon? There was no dragon, Mistress. No, the people fought amongst themselves. Now only the Master is left to guard the Entrance to this place from the Nether,” said Ehnn knowingly, with a superior look on her face.  
“That is not what the Mistress asked. You are not supposed to talk about that,” said Vhee, in a shocked voice. Ehnn stuck her tongue out at him.

Laurasha was elated; she was right! “Where is this entrance? Is that how I got here?”  
“The Entrance is in the great temple, on the other side of The Splinter,” Ehnn replied.  
“The Splinter? What is that?” Laurasha asked. Ehnn burst out laughing. Vhee frowned at her but remained silent.  
Ehnn tried hard to curb her amusement. “Mistress, why do you ask such silly questions? The great tree in front of you is The Splinter, and no, you can't have come through the Entrance. We found you out on the hillside, not in the temple.”  
“Then how did I get here?” Laurasha asked in exasperation.  
“You must have come through the mountain pass, Mistress.” Vhee replied. “Sometimes animals make their way here from time to time from the lands outside the mountains.”  
Laurasha sighed, and lay back, looking up at the sky. “If that is true, then someone brought me here, and I want to know who and why.”  
She sat up, filled with a sudden resolve. “Come on, I want to see this entrance. Take me there, please.”  
The two servants looked at each other with troubled expressions, but neither of them spoke.  
Laurasha felt anger building within her.  
“I mean it,” she said. “I want to see the entrance, and once we have done that, I want to see your Master as well! Someone owes me an explanation.”  
“But Mistress, it is getting a bit late to be going there now. Shouldn't we return to the house? We can always go there tomorrow,” Ehnn said hopefully.  
“No, Ehnn! I want to see the portal, er, entrance. Now.” She stood up and stared down at them, daring them to deny her.  
“As you wish, Mistress, but I can assure you, that you did not come through the Entrance,” Ehnn replied grumpily. 

They gathered up the picnic items in silence, and put them back in the basket. For once the grin was missing from Ehnn's face. They walked on for another hour. Finally the temple came into sight around the great girth of the tree. Laurasha felt pleased with herself. For the first time in days she felt in control of the situation. It was a feeling that would not last much longer.

Part 12 An unexpected turn of events

Despite her desire to get to the temple as soon as possible, it still took them almost an hour to cross the open space between the great tree and the massive structure. Gigantic columns towered high above them as they approached the entrance, and Laurasha felt insignificant standing before it.  
“Who built this place? Was it the Elves?” she asked.  
“No, Mistress,” replied Vhee. “The temple was here long before the Elves came.”  
She hesitated on the threshold. There were no doors or gates; the entrance was rather a large rectangular hole in the wall, but immense in size. Inside it was dark, there were no windows in the walls, but light came in through holes in the roof. The far end of the building could not be seen in the gloom. 

“Right, let's go in, shall we? Vhee, where is the entrance?” she asked, turning round to face him.  
“It is right at the far end. I think we should hurry, as once it gets dark we will not have any light to see by,” he said, looking at her unhappily.  
They went inside, with Vhee leading the way, and Laurasha close behind him. Ehnn dawdled along in the rear, gradually slipping further and further behind. Laurasha turned to wait for her, but Ehnn made a great show of putting the picnic basket down and rubbing her arm.  
“Sorry, Mistress. The basket is getting very heavy. I will catch up with you once I've got my breath back.”  
Laurasha sighed. “Very well, why don't you just wait there? We will be back soon.”  
She walked on with Vhee, their footsteps echoing loudly, but otherwise they went in silence. The place appeared to be empty, but it was hard to tell as the walls to either side were obscure in the darkness of the interior.  
As they passed underneath the first skylight, she found herself blinking in the light. Her eyes had got used to the gloom, and the daylight was suddenly very bright. As they left the patch of light behind them, the darkness of the interior seemed even deeper. By the time they had passed the fifth and last skylight, she was aware that the daylight was starting to fade, but up ahead there was a dim glow of light that was getting brighter with every footstep they took. She could not make it out, but it was almost as if a crown of light was lying on the ground up ahead. As they got nearer, the image expanded, until the illusion of the crown was lost, and the pieces separated themselves into distinguishable objects.

In the centre lay a circular pool some fifty yards across. A dim light shone from the surface of the water within it. Elegant columns surrounded it; each was made from a shining metal, some were gold, some silver, and atop each column was a small elven lamp that shone with a bright light.  
Laurasha stopped on the edge of the circle of lights, marvelling at the scene.  
“It's a Moonwell.” She turned to look at Vhee. “Why didn't you tell me about this? It's beautiful.”  
She walked forward and crouched at the edge of the water. Thin vapours criss-crossed the surface, and as she breathed in, the fresh air wafting up from the surface reminded her of spring meadows and autumn rain showers.  
Vhee hung back at the edge of the lights. “Mistress, please come away. We should not be here without the Master's permission.” His voice sounded anxious.  
Laurasha smiled at him. “Yes, all right, just give me a minute.” She turned back to the pool, reluctant to end the moment. She reached forward with her fingers, and brushed the surface of the water. As her fingertips made contact with it, a searing pain shot through them, and she snatched her hand back in shock. A black oily sludge had appeared on the surface where she had touched the pool, and as she looked on in horror, the stain began to spread rapidly across the water. In a matter of seconds, the surface of the pool had turned black, and a sickly stench assailed her nostrils.  
“I didn't do anything! I didn't do anything!” she protested, staring at Vhee in shock whilst cradling her burnt hand. The light from the elven lamps had now turned a sickly yellow, and the foetid odour grew stronger than ever. At that moment Ehnn appeared out of the darkness. She came to an abrupt halt, and dropped the picnic basket.  
“Oh, the Master won't like this! He won't like it at all,” she said, looking back over her shoulder.  
Laurasha saw another figure approaching behind her. It was the Elf lord, and he strode into the circle of lights, his face twisted with rage as he surveyed the scene. His eyes came to rest on Laurasha.  
“You! What have you done?” he cried, pointing his finger at Laurasha as she stared back at him.  
“I didn't mean it! I just touched the water, I didn't do anything,” she wailed.  
“Monster! You have corrupted my Moonwell. You are a servant of the Legion, a Warlock. I see that now. If I had known that before, I would have killed you when we first met.”  
He lunged forward and grabbed her by the collar, before throwing her to the ground at his feet. His hand went to his belt, and he drew a thin glowing blade from a sheath. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into a sitting position. She fought with both hands to try to loosen his grip, but he was too strong. He pulled her head back, exposing her throat. Her nerve broke, and she screamed.

 

Part 13 Reparations

Laurasha shouted in desperation. “It was an accident! Please! Don't kill me.”  
The Elf looked down at her, hatred in his eyes. He raised the blade to her throat, but Vhee suddenly grabbed his wrist before he could kill her.  
“Master, don't do it! If you spill her blood here, it will only make things worse.”  
The two stared at each other for a moment. “Let go of my hand, Vhee,” he said menacingly. Vhee released his grip, and slowly backed away. The Master held Laurasha in his grip for a few seconds more, then let go of her hair. She fell to the floor, stunned by what had just happened.  
The Elf spoke to Vhee, “Get her out of here. I have no more time to waste. I must now find a way to repair this damage, if I can.”  
He turned to the well, which was now covered in a noxious layer of black tar. He stood looking at it, deep in thought, one hand slowly holding his chin. He paid the others no more heed. Vhee helped Laurasha to her feet.  
“We must go back to the house at once. It is not safe to stay here.” Laurasha clung to him as they walked away. She replayed the events over and over in her mind, trying to make sense of them, but she couldn't. The violent incident had left her in a state of shock, but an overriding thought dominated her mind. She had corrupted a Moonwell. She had corrupted a Moonwell!

Vhee led her back to the house, and took her to her room. She sat on the bed for awhile, staring into space. Her burnt fingers throbbed with pain, and she examined the blackened tips in disbelief. Finally she lay on the bed, and buried her face in the pillow. She longed for sleep, to escape the reality of the day's events. Despite her whirling thoughts and the ache of her fingers, sleep was not long in coming.

She awoke in the morning to find the breakfast tray beside her bed once more. She picked at the food, but found no comfort in it. The previous days events were seared in her mind. There was a knock at the door, and it was pushed open. She jumped in fright, but saw it was only Ehnn.  
“Morning, Mistress! It's going to be another fine day,” she said, cheerily. Laurasha just stared back at her, lost for words. Ehnn picked up the tray, and was just going through the door, when she stopped and turned back round.  
“You had finished, hadn't you?” she asked. Laurasha nodded. “Oh, yes. I almost forgot, too. The Master wishes to speak with you. Once you are dressed, please meet him in the study,” she said, smiling. With that, she turned around once more and left.

Laurasha stared at the door. Ehnn's happy mood completely confused her. Only hours before she had been moments from death at the hands of the Master, but since her return to the house, she had been treated like a guest once more, and not a prisoner. She was completely at a loss. She took her time washing and dressing, reluctant to meet the Master again. He had almost killed her, would have done if Vhee hadn't stopped him. Finally, after much soul searching, she opened the door, and went to find him.  
She had no idea where the study was, and spent some time once again wandering aimlessly from one room to another, frustrated that she had not been told where to go by Ehnn. Finally and somewhat unexpectedly, she opened a door to find the Master sitting there in a chair behind a large desk. He looked up at her, and motioned for her to take a seat in the chair opposite him.  
She sat down nervously, frightened that he would leap up and assault her again. He looked tired, but if he was angry with her, she could not see it in his face. She fidgeted under his gaze, but he remained silent. Finally, when she could bear it no more, she made to speak.  
“I'm sorry that...”  
He interrupted her, “I do not wish to hear your apologies. Despite the crime you have committed, you are still my guest, so let me assure you, that I do not intend to harm you. Forgive me for my anger yesterday.”  
He raised his voice slightly, “However, I cannot ignore yesterday's events. What you did is unforgivable, but you can at least offer me an explanation of why you did this thing to me.”  
He sat back, and stared at her, frowning.  
“It was a mistake,” she said. “I did not intend anything to happen. I only touched the water because it looked so clear and fresh. I didn't mean it to happen, I really didn't,” she pleaded.  
“Then you are a fool! Did you really think that someone as corrupt in both body and soul as yourself could touch something so pure, and not infect it? You stink of the Burning Legion. You are a plague-bringer, a demon-lover, a servant of evil. Can you deny it?”

Laurasha fell back in her chair, stunned by his words. She struggled to speak. “No, it's not true! I hate the Legion!”  
Her mind reluctantly slipped back into the past. Like many others, she had passed through the Dark Portal to Outlands. There she had in time been drawn to Shadowmoon Valley and its Fel energies. Taken captive by Illidan's forces, she had been corrupted, and served the Black Temple thereafter, fighting against the forces of the Legion and the Sha'tar, her mind dominated by the power of the Fel and her demonic master. Many evil things she did in Illidan's name, and she served him loyally and without hesitation.  
Then one fateful day in Shadowmoon Valley, she had been taken prisoner by an Anchorite raid. She was taken back to Shattrath in chains, and brought before Ishanah, High Priestess of the Aldor.  
Laurasha remembered how she had raged and cursed at them, expecting only death at their hands. 

Instead, Ishanah had spoken to her softly. “This city is a sanctuary for those who are lost or fleeing from their past. It is the home of the Sha'tar, and we are their followers. We are the enemies of the Legion. For countless years we have fought them, the bitterest of foes. I see the hatred within you for them and for us, but we are not like them, for we follow the Light, and in our hearts, we have the strength to offer even our most bitter enemies redemption.”  
She stepped forward, and raised her staff over Laurasha's head. Laurasha struggled to break free of her bonds while screaming obscenities at the Priestess, but it was futile.  
“Know this,” the priestess said. “Here the power of the Light is so strong, that it can cleanse even the worst Fel corruption. Take heart, for the sickness that assails your mind and soul is within my power to remove.”  
A bright light shone in Laurasha's eyes, so bright that she screamed in pain, and she flung her arm across her face, but when she lowered it, things had changed. A terrible darkness had been lifted from her mind, and she felt as if she had awoken from a bad dream. She sat stunned while the Draenei removed her chains. She looked up into Ishanah's face, tears rolling down her cheeks.  
“Come, child. A'dal wishes to speak with you.” She offered Laurasha her hand, and eventually Laurasha took it. 

Her mind returned abruptly to the present.  
“I serve the Sha'tar; the Naaru,” she said, earnestly. “It is true, I once served an evil lord, but I am free of him now.”  
The Master stared at her. “And yet you corrupted my Moonwell with the barest touch! Can you deny it?”  
“I...” Laurasha struggled to reply, still shocked by what had happened. ”The Legion is my enemy, please believe me! I do not serve them, I hate them! I did not mean to corrupt your Moonwell. It was an accident, and I don't understand how it happened.”  
The Elf sat back in his chair. “Is this the best story you can come up with? Do you really expect me to believe that the Naaru use Warlocks and Demons to fight the Legion? Pathetic.”  
“What more can I do?” she cried. “How can I prove to you that I am telling the truth?”

He stared at her for a long moment. “There is something you can do for me, to prove that you do not serve the forces of darkness.” He lifted a glass from the table and took a short drink from it.  
“Beyond the mountain walls of this Sanctuary lies a land plagued by an evil druid. He once lived here, in this house. When the great madness fell upon us, he was not spared, but he escaped the chaos and the bloodshed. Somehow he found the pass through the mountains, and left the valley. For many years I had no inkling that he had survived, but gradually it came to my notice that something evil was stirring in the great forest beyond this Sanctuary. Since then, many attempts have been made by this druid and his followers to invade us, to destroy this place. When you corrupted my Moonwell, I suspected that you were one of his servants, but, now I think not. He has no connection to the Legion or its minions.”  
“So what is it you want me to do?”, she asked. “I'm afraid my powers are weak. I won't fight this druid if that is what you are thinking, I won't have a chance.”  
“Although I very much doubt what you say is true, that is not what I require from you. We do not go to open war against him. No, I have another task for you. One which will be much more suited to your abilities.”

Part 14 The Plan

He relaxed back into his chair. “You will go to him as an emissary of the Legion, and you will offer him aid in his war against me. Even if he refuses, it does not matter. Once you are within his lair, I want you to use this.”  
The Elf held up a small object that was lying on his desk. It looked like a polished grey stone. He handed it to her, and she studied it as it lay in her hand. It was slightly larger than a chicken egg, smooth but with a greasy lustre.  
“What is it?” she asked, curiously.  
“It is a Sickness Stone,” he replied.”All you have to do is drop it on the floor somewhere discreet in his lair, and the stone will do the rest.”  
“What does it do, exactly?”  
“When the shell breaks, a toxin will be released. Anyone within a mile of it will be poisoned. Don't worry, it won't take effect immediately. You will have plenty of time to leave after the shell is cracked before the poison will become active.”  
Laurasha studied it for a moment, then looked back at the Elf. “I'm not sure about this. Will it kill them?”  
“No, it will only make them very ill, no more. My aim is to incapacitate them, rather than kill them. Only their leader is truly evil, the rest are merely his pawns in this. When the druid has lost his followers to the sickness, I will deal with him myself.”  
Laurasha stared at him for a long moment, and the Elf stared back.  
“I don't know if I can do this,” she said. “It doesn't seem right, somehow.”  
The Elf sneered. “Right? You dare talk about what is right? How many people have you murdered? How many innocents have suffered by your hands? How dare you talk about what is right? You miserable creature.” He lent forward across the desk, his eyes blazing.  
“Let me tell you, girl. You will do this thing for me, because if you don't, I will imprison you in the dungeons of this house for the rest of your days. You will live in a room so small, that you will be able to touch all four walls at once. You will never see daylight again, or any other sort of light, because it is as dark down there as your black heart. Do you understand me?”  
Laurasha was shocked, but she knew instinctively that he meant every word of it. She struggled to speak. The Elf sat back in his chair once again, a slight conciliatory smile playing on his lips.  
“Come, is what I am asking you so hard? If you have truly recanted on your evil past, then prove it to me. Do as I ask, and this matter of the Moonwell will be forgotten. What do you say?”

She turned the stone over and over in her hands, trying to come up with an alternative course of action, but her mind remained blank. It was true, she was evil, she had done many evil things in the last four years, and despite the forgiveness offered her by the Sha'tar, her crimes could not be erased from her memory. The guilt was a crushing weight on her mind, one that even A'dal himself could not lift from her thoughts. Murderer, Torturer, Despoiler, Corrupter. It was all true. As hard as the Anchorites had tried to cleanse her soul of evil, they had failed, that much was plain. Even her barest touch had poisoned the Moonwell; so much for A'dal's redemption. Finally she looked up at him and spoke. “Very well, I will do as you ask.”

The Elf smiled broadly. “Good, good. I hoped that you would see sense, and you have. Now, you will need to find some more suitable clothes for your role as the servant of the Legion. I'm sure there will be something in your room that will suffice. Ehnn will accompany you as your acolyte, and Vhee will be your guide. Once you have successfully carried out your task, Vhee will bring you back here. Understood?”  
She nodded.  
“Well, what are you waiting for? The sooner you pack, the sooner you can get started.”  
He waved her away and then took up a quill, and began to write. Laurasha stood up and slowly walked to the door. She hesitated, thinking to say something, but the Elf continued to ignore her, so she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. She stood still, though her mind was whirling. How she longed to be back in Shattrath, back in her home, away from this strange Elf! Yes, she would do as the Elf asked, but once she had done it, she would not return with Vhee. She would make her way home. 

Back in her room, she assembled an outfit from the wide selection of clothes in her wardrobe, and tried it on. A long black dress, leather boots, a heavily embroidered black cape covered in strange runes, and a black silken cowl. Studying herself in the mirror, she wondered if she had overdone it. It was how she imagined an evil person would look, if they wanted to look evil, although she had never worn anything quite so ridiculous herself.  
She undressed and put the things in her bag. She had no intention of wearing the outfit until she had to. She took some more clothes from the cupboard, but this time she selected things more in keeping with going on a journey by foot. Boring but practical clothes; a pair of green trousers made from a tough fabric, some warm shirts, a dark woollen cloak, and some stout footwear and thick socks. Once she was ready, she went in search of Vhee. She found him by the front door, filling a large and heavy-looking pack with sundry items.  
“Ah, Mistress! I have everything we will need for the journey. I estimate it will take us two days to get there, and two days to get back, so I have rations for five days travel, and plenty of pots, pans, cutlery and so on.”  
“Doesn't the Master have any horses to carry our things on?”, she enquired.  
“Horses? No, I'm afraid not”, he replied. “Don't worry, I can manage it all.”  
She nodded dubiously. “Where is Ehnn? She is supposed to be coming with us.”  
Just then Ehnn came down the stairs. Laurasha's jaw dropped. Rather than wearing her normal clothes, or an outfit similar to Laurasha's, Ehnn had chosen a black blouson dress with a scoop top and three-quarter sleeves. On her feet she wore a pair of sling-backs with a large heel. She had put thick eye liner on, with purple eye shadow and gloss-red lipstick. Heavy gold earrings dangled from her ears. She looked like a Stormwind whore.  
“Ehnn, what on Azeroth are you wearing?” Laurasha asked incredulously.  
“If I am to be your slave girl, then I need to look like one,” Ehnn replied haughtily. “Are you jealous of how I look?”  
“No, of course not! You do realise we are having to walk for two days before we get there?”  
Ehnn pulled a face. “Yes, of course I know that. Unlike you I am trying to remain in-character the whole time. You never know when you might bump into someone out in the woods. I don't think you will make much of an impression dressed like that.”  
Laurasha sighed. The sooner this was over the better. “Just don't come crying to me when you have sore feet or are freezing cold.”  
Ehnn pouted but didn't reply, posing theatrically. Laurasha frowned a her. “Are you going to help Vhee carry the things?”  
“How can I carry things dressed like this?” Ehnn retorted. “I would look pretty stupid.”  
Before Laurasha could reply, Vhee interrupted. “It's OK, Mistress. I can manage. It's not a problem for me.” He lifted the heavy pack and placed it across his shoulders. He opened the door and went outside. The others followed him and Laurasha stood a moment looking back at the house. If she got her way, she would never see it or the Master again.  
“Lead on, Vhee,” she said, and they began the long walk out of the valley.

Part 15 Outward Bound

As they passed the temple, Laurasha looked for any sign that things had changed since she had last been there, but the great stone edifice looked no different from the outside. “Did the Master cleanse the Moonwell?” she asked.  
“No, in fact it's getting worse,” Ehnn replied, smirking. “You made a right mess of it! If I was the Master, I would not have been so forgiving. I would have flayed the skin from your back.”  
Laurasha stopped and stared at her, speechless. Ehnn broke into a broad smile.  
“But I'm not the Master, so don't worry, Mistress.” With that she skipped off to Vhee's side and began to whisper to him, while now and again looking back at Laurasha and giggling. Laurasha wrinkled her nose back at her.

By mid-afternoon they had walked out of the shadow of the great tree. The sun beat down relentlessly now that the canopy was no longer above them. The old road stretched away in front of them, ascending slowly but steadily towards the mountain wall ahead. Laurasha's legs ached from the constant uphill climb. She wondered how Ehnn was managing in her high heels, but the girl had made no complaints about them so far.  
As the sun went down they stopped to set up camp for the night. Laurasha was glad to take her small pack off her shoulders. She sat down and relaxed as Vhee set up a fire, and he prepared their evening meal. Meanwhile, Ehnn fussed with her clothes and her make-up, staring intently into a mirror while reapplying the thick lines of mascara about her eyes.  
Laurasha couldn't restrain herself.  
“You look like a refugee from Illidan's harem.” Ehnn looked at her and smiled, then returned to her mirror.  
“Oh Mistress, you know how to make a girl feel special,” she replied in a mocking voice.

After they had eaten, Laurasha asked Vhee to tell her what he knew about the druid and the lands outside the valley.  
“The druid is known as the Black Nail. Why I don't know. He is said to be merciless, and rules his land in a reign of terror. His followers are slaves, and they will be only too happy to see him defeated.”  
Laurasha nodded. “...and have you ever been inside his lair? What is it like, what does he look like?”  
“No I have not, and I have never seen him, but I have been to the entrance before. It leads underground.”  
“What of his followers? Have you seen them?”  
“Yes. Though they are slaves, and will be glad to be rid of him, you must be careful of them, Mistress. They are a very warlike people, and before the druid came they fought with each other for dominion of these lands. He took over one of their tribes, and gradually conquered the rest one by one. Now he rules them all, but once he is defeated, I imagine they will return to their old ways, and start fighting amongst themselves again.”  
“What about the lands outside?”  
“There is a great forest, which stretches for miles in every direction. What lies beyond the forest I cannot tell you, for I have never travelled that far.”  
Laurasha nodded to herself. So they were in Duskwood. She knew it had to be the case. The flood waters had carried her away deep into the forest, then somehow she had ended up in the crater. She was still frustrated that she could not remember how she had got there. The gap in her memory was a mystery that she wished she could solve.

Later that evening, as she lay in her camp bed she went through her plans, What had seemed quite plausible in the house was now beginning to appear a lot more complicated. First she had to persuade the druid that she was a representative of the Legion, and that she was there to offer him help in defeating the Master. Then she had to escape him and his followers, as well as Ehnn and Vhee, possibly with all of them in pursuit, depending what happened. It might not be so easy.  
Her thoughts turned reluctantly once more to the incident with the Moonwell. Ehnn had said it had got worse, not better, and Vhee had not corrected her, so it must have been the truth. Corrupted by her merest touch. The Sha'tar had removed most of the poisonous Fel taint from her blood, but clearly not enough. She was still a thing of evil, a menace to others.  
She cursed the Worgen. For the thousandth time she cursed them for coming to her farm. They had made her what she was, something even more evil than themselves. They should have killed her that night. They had paid the price for that mistake, but so had she, tenfold. How she wished she could be back on the farm with her father the way it was before it all went wrong.  
The work had been hard, no mistake,but she had loved every moment of it. Life had been so good back then. Then the Worgen had come and taken it all away from her. But the Legion had been behind it all. They were the true culprits. 

Five years ago, she had watched the men of Darkshire march away to Stormwind, to take passage to distant Lordaeron to fight the Scourge. Her brother and his friends had been amongst them, so proud of themselves, and not one of them had ever come back. They were all dead or worse. The loss of so many menfolk had left their families almost defenceless against the Worgen and other evil things that had since infested her homeland.  
Anger tore through her. What right had the Worgen to take away her home and her father, what right had the Legion to kill her brother, and turn her into a monster? The hatred still seethed in her, the desire to kill and destroy them all. Why couldn't they have just been left alone? 

The next morning, they breakfasted after a cold sunrise. Laurasha ate in silence, a cloud of depression hanging over her. Ehnn, meanwhile, flirted with and teased Vhee constantly, but he put up with her japes in good spirit. Laurasha pondered over their relationship. At first she had thought them to be lovers, but it was plain now that they weren't. Maybe they were brother and sister, she thought, but they were so different in both looks and personality, that she guessed that was not true either. There was definitely a bond between them, beyond both being the Master's servants. She wanted to ask Vhee about it, but Ehnn was never far away, and she did not feel comfortable asking him in Ehnn's presence. As she would be leaving them soon, she guessed it didn't matter anyway. She felt bad about abandoning Vhee, as he seemed such a good man; honest, handsome, strong, tireless, and he never complained, unlike Ehnn. Laurasha would be glad to see the back of her, though, that was for sure.  
They packed their things, and moved on. The ascent got a lot steeper, and their pace slowed. The road had petered out the day before, and now Vhee was leading them over rough ground. The mountains towered above them, and there seemed to be no obvious way between them.  
As they struggled up the hillside, Laurasha half hoped to see Ehnn take a tumble, seeing as she still wore her ridiculous shoes, but the girl seemed to have the balance of a mountain goat. She hopped effortlessly from rock to rock, while Laurasha plodded in the rear, making sure of every step before she dared move higher. In the end Vhee came back to help her, and Ehnn laughed at her as she struggled. 

Finally they reached a plateau. They rested there, and Laurasha was surprised to see just how high up they were. The great tree still towered into the sky, but the temple was just a smudge of odd shapes and colours beneath the tree's mighty boughs. After a short break they moved on. The sun was once again high overhead, but the air was a lot cooler, and as they reached the pass, obscured from view almost until they were within a few feet of it, the sun was hidden by the steep walls to either side. It was a narrow cleft between two massive rock faces, and they were forced to walk through it in single file. They frequently had to clamber over great rocks and piles of smaller stones and scree that had fallen from the great walls on either side. It was a dangerous place, and as they finally made their way through it without incident, Laurasha sighed with relief.  
They came out into the sunshine on the other side of the mountains. Below them lay a vast expanse of trees, stretching from one horizon to the other. The panorama was unbroken by any sign of habitation or other geographical features. As they slowly made their way down the steep rock face, Laurasha felt a sudden chill; this wasn't Duskwood.

Part 16 Contact

It took them three hours to make their way down the hillside to the tree-line. Once there, the going got easier, and they were able to push on deep into the woods. Underneath the trees, it was gloomy and the atmosphere was oppressive.  
Laurasha studied her surroundings as they moved beneath the branches. These trees were unknown to her, and she did not like the look of them. The trunks split shortly above the ground into numerous boles that twisted around each other for a short distance before shooting off random directions, sometimes up, sometimes down. Each branch then exploded into a mass of leaves, though they looked more like strips of torn cloth caught up in the branches than proper leaves.  
There was an eerie silence, it was so disturbing that they all ended up speaking in whispers, as normal speech seemed overly loud. As they walked along, their feet puffed up clouds of dust; it did not look like it had rained for a long time.

Laurasha reluctantly abandoned her plan to head off into the forest by herself she had no idea where she was. She needed a guide, someone who knew the area and could lead her to a safe place.  
Maybe she could persuade one of the Druid's people to help her, or she could try and get Vhee to go with her. Otherwise her only option would be to return to Sanctuary, and that was something she was not willing to do unless she had no other choice.  
Vhee called a halt a short time later so that they could rest and have something to eat. There was plenty of dead wood lying around, and he quickly had a good fire going. The smoke from the fire seemed reluctant to pass through the twisted branches high above them, and instead lingered in the air, making it even more gloomy. After they had eaten, Laurasha queried Vhee about what they would do next.  
“I guess we can't be far from the Druid’s lair now, Vhee. Do you think it's time for me to change into my other clothes?”  
“Um, no, I would not bother to do that just yet, Mistress”, he replied.  
“Also, once we get there what are we going to do? I mean, do we just walk up to the front door and ask to see the druid?”  
“Don't worry about it, Mistress,” he replied. “The Master has already prepared the way. We are expected.”  
She looked at him curiously. “What do you mean? How can we be expected?”  
Vhee looked at her seriously. “Mistress, I'm sorry about all this. It is not something I want to do, but we have to do what we are told. The Master...”  
“Hey, Vhee,” Ehnn shouted across from the other side of the camp. “Come here, you big lummox.”  
Her voice echoed deafeningly in the silence. Vhee held Laurasha's gaze for a short time, then got up and walked over to Ehnn. They began to bicker, but this time Ehnn kept her voice down, so Laurasha could not hear what they were saying. Once she pointed over in Laurasha's direction, and theatrically stood with her hands on her hips. Vhee just folded his arms and shook his head, to which Ehnn dramatically threw her hands up in the air, and then stormed off into the trees.  
Vhee watched her go, and then turned to look at Laurasha. When he saw she was looking, he blushed, and turned to tinker with his pack.  
No doubt, Laurasha thought, the whole thing was as usual a storm in a teacup. Ehnn would come back soon, and sit sulking until Vhee apologized to her. She sat staring into the fire, her thoughts filled with melancholy. She daydreamed that the fire could cleanse her past, eating it away until nothing remained except a pile of ashes; no more nightmares, no more regrets. If only it was so.

Some time later, Vhee joined her by the fire. Ehnn had still not returned. They sat in silence for a while, though Laurasha was very much aware of his presence. Her dark mood lifted in his company, and she felt a need to be with him. She moved closer to him, and he looked at her, and smiled sadly.  
“Hi, Vhee,” she began. “I was just thinking, that I haven't spoken to you very much since we met. I'm curious to know a bit more about you.”  
“Um, well...” he replied.  
“Don't be shy,” she smiled. “Tell me how you came to work for the Master.”  
He said nothing for a time, then spoke quietly.  
“I don't really remember that. Ehnn and I once served, um, someone else,but now the Master is in charge. He treats us well when we do as we are told. It could be worse.”  
“But you don't seem very happy about it. Would you like to serve me instead, Vhee?”, she asked. “I could take you away from here, with me, if you wished.”  
“That would be nice, I would like that very much,” he replied. “But the Master won't permit it. We must serve him now. In that we have no choice.”  
“When you say 'we', I presume you mean you and Ehnn?” He nodded.”Tell me, Vhee. Why do you put up with her? She is so childish.”  
“That is how she is.It is her nature,” he replied. “Do you dislike her?”  
“Maybe a little. She makes a big issue of everything, and she acts like a baby. She is insulting and difficult. I think she needs to grow up.”  
“Don't be too hard on her, Mistress. She resents being a servant, more than you can imagine, but she does as she is told, even if she hates it.”  
“If I was the Master I would get rid of her and find someone a bit more suitable,” she retorted.  
Vhee didn't reply.

Laurasha stared into the fire. Prising Vhee away from Ehnn might turn out to be quite difficult. Perhaps he loved her. She was without doubt physically very attractive. Laurasha could understand how he could be drawn to her in that way, despite her tantrums.  
“Look, Vhee,” she said. “Once this business with the druid is over, I don't intend to return to the Master's Sanctuary. I want to leave this place, and find my way back to where I came from. I can't do it alone, I need someone to come with me. Someone who knows these woods, or at least knows this place better than I do. I want that to be you. I can't go back to the Master, I'm scared of him.”  
He didn't respond, but just sat looking at her.  
“Vhee, please come away with me! If you want, Ehnn can come with us. I know you have a soft spot for her, and if that is what is holding you back, then by all means bring her, too. Vhee, I have to get away from here. This is not my home, I don't want to be here, and I want you to help me get back there.”  
He stared down at his feet. “I want to help you, I really do, but I can't! Ehnn is stronger than I am. You should ask her to help you. My will is too weak.”  
She looked back at him, puzzled. “What do you mean? I don't understand.”  
At that moment he stood up and fixed his eyes on something on the other side of the camp. Laurasha tried to see what it was, but the brightness of the fire prevented her seeing through the gloom. “What is it?” she asked.  
“It's Ehnn, she has come back,” he replied.  
“Oh.” She kept her eyes on the fire, paying Ehnn no attention. She would try and persuade Vhee to help her once her task with the druid was over. She knew Vhee was wavering. If she pushed hard enough he would agree to help her, she was sure of it.

Ehnn strode into the firelight, but said nothing. Laurasha caught more movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look at what it was, and fell back in shock. Four dark figures stood behind Ehnn. Each was at least seven feet tall. They wore few clothes, save for crude loincloths. Two wore metal bracers on their wrists, and one had a leather helmet on its head. Their muzzles bristled with sharp teeth, and their hands were long and clawed, as were their feet. They were Worgen!  
“There she is, as promised,” Ehnn said, pointing at Laurasha. Laurasha stared back, speechless. She stood up, and turned to Vhee.  
“What is going on?” she asked incredulously.  
Ehnn smiled. “The Master made a bargain with the druid. He's handing you over to them.”  
“What? Vhee, do something,” she implored.  
“I'm sorry, Mistress,” he replied. “There is nothing I can do.” With that, he suddenly stepped behind her and pinned her arms behind her back. The Worgen advanced.  
“No, get off me!” She struggled to break his grip, but it was no use.”Vhee stop! Don't! Vhee!” she screamed.  
As the Worgen came closer, she kicked out in a fit of rage and fear, desperate to get away. A vicious blow with her foot caught Vhee on the shin, and he grunted with pain, but he didn't let go. Then the Worgen had her, and they threw her to the ground and pinned her arms and legs.  
Convinced that she was going to die, she screamed and struggled, but there was no escape. One of the Worgen forced a bag over her head, and then she felt her arms and legs being bound. She could not breathe inside the bag, she was suffocating. She fought hysterically, but try as she might, she could not draw breath. As she began to black out, she had a vision of Volyap swimming underwater, and she briefly wondered if she was drowning. Then she lost consciousness.

Part 17 Prisoner 

When she came to, the bag had been removed from her head, and had been replaced by a gag. She was being carried by one of the Worgen, over his shoulder. Terror gripped her, and she writhed in a futile attempt to break free. Her screams were muffled by the gag, and she was soon forced to breathe heavily through her nose. Gradually the terror was replaced by despair, and she ceased struggling. She hung motionless for the rest of the journey, staring at the Worgen's heels as he loped along. Occasionally the sound of Ehnn's haughty voice came to her ears. The girl was still with them then, she thought.  
Soon it was dark, but the party did not slow. It took Laurasha a while to realise that they were no longer outside, but making their way underground. They had entered the Druid’s lair.  
Eventually the Worgen carrying her stopped, and then dropped her to the floor. She landed painfully on her side, and her head hit the hard earth. The Worgen spoke to each other in their strange tongue, and she heard them moving away. Then there was silence.

She lay in complete darkness for what seemed an age, waiting for them to return, but no-one came. Gradually she fell into an uncomfortable and fitful sleep, constantly waking in panic, unable to breath, and then gradually dozing off again. Some time later she came to, tired but unable to sleep any more. Her arms felt numb. The only sound she could hear was her own breathing. The thought occurred to her that she had been abandoned, left to die in some pit deep underground. She wondered how long it would take her to die, bound and gagged. Ironically, her body was alive with aches and pains, reminding her that she was still very much in the land of the living.  
She was very thirsty, and the feeling grew and grew over the next few hours, until it finally became a torment. She desperately wanted the gag out of her mouth. Her jaw ached and her tongue pressed painfully against it. She also needed to relieve herself, but it was secondary to her need for water. That took up all her thoughts now. She imagined herself lying next to an underground lake, its cold and clear waters only a few steps away from her. It seemed a ridiculous idea, but she could not get the thought out of her head. She imagined diving head first into it, and then drinking until she could drink no more. It would be foolish to die of thirst lying next to a lake, she thought. Very foolish.  
Eventually she could bear the thought no longer. She had to know if the lake was there. 

She forced herself to roll over, despite the pain that it caused her when she did so. Three times she rolled over, and each time she did so her body protested in agony. Then on the fourth attempt, her legs bumped abruptly against something, and came to a stop. Whatever it was, she could go no further in that direction.  
“Do you hear the crying, Laurasha?” a voice suddenly said out of the darkness. “A small child, crying. Do you hear it?” She heard footsteps approaching her, stopping near to her head. The deep voice continued. “I do. I hear it every night, just before I fall asleep.”  
She held her breath, astounded. There was a pause before the voice resumed speaking.  
“Do you know what it is to suffer, Laurasha? I do. Do you think you have suffered yet, Laurasha? I don't.”  
She squirmed in the darkness, terrified. Whoever it was, they sounded insane. Suddenly a light flared in the darkness, its brightness bored painfully into her eyes, and she squeezed them shut  
“Yes, that's right, turn away from the Light, Laurasha. Show your true colours, 'Servant of the Legion'. Did you really think your pathetic attempt to trick me would work?”  
Her pack sailed out of the darkness, and crashed against her head, the clothes of her disguise hanging from the opening. She squinted into the light as her eyes got used to the brightness. Now she could see her accuser, a tall Night Elf, dressed in a long brown robe. His features were distorted by the flickering light he held in his hand, giving his face a demonic cast.  
“The one you call Ehnn works for me, now. She knows it is hopeless to resist me. Soon I will take possession of the Portal and the Splinter, and I will escape this nightmare.” He looked down on her with disgust.  
“Look at the state of you. Rolling in the dirt like some animal. I should leave you here to die, as I should have done a long time ago, but we can't have you dying on us, can we? Not yet at least.”

He bent over her, and she saw him more clearly. At first her attention was drawn to his temple, where an odd shape projected from the skin. It looked like a great nail had been hammered into his head! That side of his face was covered in blood, both old and new, and more fluid was oozing from the skin around the metal, and slowly oozing down his face. She stared at it, horrified. He reached down to her face, and ripped the gag out of her mouth. As he did so, she looked into his face and into his eyes. It was the last face she had expected to see. It was Onalesamkin.

Part 18 Despair

“Ona?” she croaked. “But... they told me you were dead.”  
He scowled but did not reply. Roughly, he turned her over, and cut the ropes from her wrists, and then from her legs and ankles. Her limbs protested in pain as she moved them, so she lay still whilst the circulation returned to her hands and feet. He spoke quietly.  
“When I brought you back from the farm, there were some who doubted my wisdom. There was a sickness about you, a darkness, something evil. But I did not listen to them. I did not believe that you were the source, but rather a victim of it.” He stared down at her in fury. “Some time later I heard rumours from the Expedition, that the Sha'tar had captured a human Warlock in a battle against demons in Shadowmoon Valley, and A'dal had broken her and made her his slave as an example. I did not even imagine it could be you, but when I was in Shattrath I found out the truth. Dare you deny it?” She could not meet his gaze. She slowly shook her head.  
“And now you come into my life again, once more in the service of evil. I rue the day I saved you. How many people have died at your hands since then? How many have you tortured and maimed since then? “  
She looked up at him tearfully. “It wasn't like that!” she sobbed. “ I was forced to serve Illidan!”  
“You lie!” he shouted. Blood ran down his face, and dripped onto hers. She shied away, shocked.  
“Ona. What happened to you? What happened to your face?” He reached up and touched the nail embedded in his head.  
“I fought the Scourge, yes, and my body was broken by them, but I would not let them take my spirit. Instead I sought refuge in the Emerald Dream, but somehow you managed to bring me here, and do this to me!”  
He looked at the blood on his hand, and wiped it on his trousers. “Now you will join me for your last meal. You will put on those clothes you brought with you, and we will celebrate your forthcoming death with a great feast.” She stared at him, open-mouthed.  
“Put on those clothes. Now!” he roared, “or I will kill you here.” 

She slowly got to her hands and knees, and pulled the clothes out of the bag. She looked up at him, but there was no sign of pity or empathy in his eyes, only hate. She shivered with pain and exhaustion, and her arms had no strength in them, so it took her some time to take off her shirt, and then put the dress on. Next she took off her shoes, and the trousers, before pulling the long leather boots on. All the time, Onalesamkin stared down at her, unmoving. She got slowly to her feet, feeling faint and dizzy. Onalesamkin reached down, picked up the cowl and the cloak, and threw them at her.  
“Put those on as well.” She did as he asked, slowly sobbing to herself. “Good. Now everyone can see you for what you are. Stay close to me. I would not want one of my soldiers to eat you.”

He grabbed her wrist, and dragged her along behind him. They went down a long tunnel, past openings on either side that led into darkness. She fell down twice, as her legs were still numb, but each time he dragged her up again. Finally they came to a door and he pushed it open. It was a large cave, dimly lit. There were over a hundred Worgen there, eating, drinking, and fighting amongst themselves. The noise was incredible. Onalesamkin dragged her to a large table at one end of the cave, and forced her into a chair. Ehnn was already sitting at the table, eating from a large plate. As Laurasha sat down, Ehnn raised a goblet to her, and smiled.  
“Glad you could join us, Mistress!”, she smirked. Laurasha ignored her, and stared down at the table. Onalesamkin turned to her.  
“You must be hungry and thirsty after your travels. Come, join the feast! Don't pass up this opportunity to enjoy yourself!”  
He signalled one of the Worgen nearby, who brought over a plate of steaming food. He placed it down in front of her. She looked at it; it was raw meat. She pushed the plate away with a grimace.  
“Not hungry? Then something to drink perhaps?” Onalesamkin said.  
He poured some fluid into a goblet, and passed it to her. Laurasha was desperately thirsty. It was impossible in the dim light to see what was in the goblet, but the need overtook her, and she raised it to her lips and drank. When she realised it was blood, she threw the goblet down and spat out what was still in her mouth.  
Ehnn laughed, and Laurasha began to cry. She covered her face with her hands, and wept. This couldn't be Ona! Onalesamkin grabbed her hands and pulled them away from her face.  
“Aren't you enjoying yourself, Laurasha?”, he snarled.  
“I hate you!” she screamed, and began to strike him about the head. He knocked her to the floor, and she lay there, stunned.  
She remained there for a few moments while she recovered. Something was digging into her, and she put her hand under her to find out what it was. It was a stone, smooth but greasy to the touch. It seemed familiar somehow, and then realisation struck her; it was the Sickness Stone! It must have been caught up in her dress somehow, when she took it out of the pack. It seemed an age ago that tthe Master had given it to her. She held it in her hand for a few seconds, and then with grim determination, she smashed it into the floor. It shot out of her hand and skidded into the darkness. She couldn't tell whether she had cracked it or not.  
Then she felt herself being lifted off the floor. One of the Worgen had her it its arms. She screamed and fought wildly, but she was helpless. She felt its stinking breath on her face, and it growled loudly as it lowered its jaws towards her face.  
“No!” Onalesamkin shouted. “Take her back to the pit, now!”  
The Worgen reluctantly did as it was told, and carried her down the long dark passageway before dumping her onto the floor. She heard a door being pulled shut, and then there was silence. Once again she was alone in the dark, but at least this time she wasn't bound and gagged.

She lay there for some time, mentally and physically exhausted, but her thirst returned to haunt her. She had to drink! Visions of the underground lake drove her once again to crawl across the floor. She moved slowly on, convinced that she was right, but suddenly her hand encountered thin air.  
There was no floor in front of her, just emptiness. She followed the edge across the room, and suddenly her hand bumped into a wall. She turned around, and followed the edge back the other way, until again she came to a stone wall. The pit covered the whole of the room. She scrabbled in the dark and found some small stones, which she dropped into the void. She heard them hit bottom maybe five seconds later. There was no lake, only an abyss.  
She lay on the edge of the drop for some time, thoughts of the last day's events running over and over through her mind. Finally she dozed off, her mind full of visions of Worgen and Scourge, and the Master, laughing.

Part 19 Consequences

Later, she dreamt of Ehnn forcing her to drink out of the bloody goblet from the feast. She would push the rim against Laurasha's lips, and force her mouth open whilst she poured the fluid into it. Laurasha had no choice but to swallow. Then the cup would be brought to her lips again, and Ehnn would make her take another mouthful. The dream was quite repetitive, and it played over and over in her mind. She woke slowly, reluctantly. Her head was resting on her pack, and there was light in the cave. She sat up slowly. A few feet away, a small lantern rested on the floor, shedding its light over her. 

“It's about time you woke up,”Ehnn said, from the darkness outside the lantern's glow. She strode into the light. Once again she had a bucket in her hand, which she put down on the floor close to where Laurasha was sitting. “My, you drink like a fish! I've brought some more in case you are still thirsty.”  
Laurasha's eyes went from Ehnn's face to the bucket and back, but she remained silent. Ehnn reached down into the bucket and pulled out a goblet, brimming with fluid.  
“Here,” Ehnn said, offering the goblet to her. Laurasha suddenly lashed out, knocking the goblet out of Ehnn's hand.  
“No,” she screamed. “I won't drink it.” Ehnn looked at her with a bemused expression.  
“Fine, be like that,”she said, pulling a face. “Anyway, the Master wishes to see you. It's best not to keep him waiting.”  
“The Master?”, Laurasha asked, confused.  
“Yes, the Master,” Ehnn replied. “We are going back to Sanctuary. The druid is defeated and the Master has won! I really didn't think you would do it. Seems I was wrong.”  
Laurasha didn't reply, thinking it was some kind of trick. Ehnn walked into the darkness.  
“Don't forget your things and you will probably need that lantern, too,” she said.

Laurasha picked up her pack. Her other clothes had been put in it. She walked over and picked up the lantern. The goblet was lying close by, and she reached down and picked it up, too. There was no blood in it, only drops of water.  
“Are you coming, Mistress?” Ehnn shouted. Laurasha on a whim stuffed the goblet into her pack.  
“Yes, yes I'm coming,” she replied wearily. The pack felt incredibly heavy. She slowly caught Ehnn up, who was waiting by the door.  
“Ehnn, can you carry this for me, please? I don't think I can manage it any more.” She dropped the pack on the floor. Ehnn rolled her eyes, but she bent down and picked it up.  
“The things I do for you,” she muttered. “Come on, Mistress.”

She led Laurasha down the tunnel. At the first opening, she turned off rather than carry on straight as Onalesamkin had the night before. The floor beneath Laurasha's feet was wet and muddy. To one side lay a small cart, rusted and rotten, abandoned long ago. She had a feeling that she had been there before, and then realisation hit her; it was the tunnel from her nightmare! Terror gripped her, and she ran after Ehnn into the depths. Suddenly she tripped, and went sprawling on her face in the dirt. Her left knee was in agony, and she lay in silence with her face screwed up in pain while she waited for the throbbing to subside. She ran her hand over her kneecap, expecting to find a bone protruding, or a gaping wound, but there was nothing.  
“Wait for me, will you?” she cried, frightened that Ehnn had left without her.  
She picked up the lantern, just in time for her to see a gigantic Worgen appear from the tunnel behind her. It moved haltingly towards her, and she watched wide-eyed as it came closer and closer. Her heart was hammering in her chest. When it was ten feet away, it stopped, and abruptly toppled over face first. It lay there for a moment, and then vomited noisily. It gave a giant sigh, and was still.

She watched it for some time, convinced it was going to get up and attack her, but it didn't move. Slowly she got to her feet, and once again ran down the tunnel, constantly looking behind her. There was no further pursuit.  
“Mistress, come on! What are you doing down there?” Ehnn's voice echoed in the tunnel ahead of her. Laurasha didn't reply, she felt tired and very light-headed. Eventually she saw a light ahead of her. She summoned the last reserves of her strength, and staggered through the doorway into a dimly lit room. Ehnn was waiting there with Vhee and the Master. When he saw her, the Master ran up to her, and picked her up in his arms. He hugged her close, and danced round the room.  
“Laurasha, Laurasha!” he cried. “I knew you wouldn't let me down.”  
He released her, and she sank to the floor, exhausted. He continued to caper round the room. Laurasha listlessly watched him prancing about like a fool. She was trembling with fatigue. She had no idea what had happened, or what the Master was doing there, but she didn't care any more.

He eventually stopped, but a broad grin remained on his face. He came over to her and stood looking down at her.  
“Laurasha, get up! Come on, it's time to celebrate!”  
She sat motionless, too weary to move. The Master frowned, and then snapped his fingers.  
“Vhee, bring her,” he ordered. Vhee walked over and hoisted Laurasha to her feet, but her legs crumpled under her, so he picked her up and carried her in his arms. They walked up a long tunnel, the Master leading the way, and Ehnn bringing up the rear. The tunnel led to the surface and out into the light of day. Laurasha blinked in the strong sunshine. They were inside a wooden palisade, a fortress. As she looked around, she could see bodies lying in the dirt; Worgen corpses.  
“What happened to them?” she asked Vhee. He looked at her unsmiling.  
“You killed them,” he said.  
“ Me?” she replied. “No, that's not true. I didn't do anything.”  
“Yes you did, Mistress. You used the Plague Stone. You killed them. You killed all of them.”  
“Plague Stone?”  
He sighed. “The Master's Plague Stone. The one he gave you in Sanctuary. I never thought you would use it.”  
“But...”  
She remembered finding the stone under Onalesamkin's table, and smashing it into the floor. So it had broken after all. She remained silent as he carried her through the fort. The front gate was open, and he walked through it. Worgen guards lay sprawled near the entrance, their bodies twisted in death. She felt nothing but grim satisfaction as she looked at their bodies.  
“I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I killed them,” she said suddenly. “I hate them! I hate all of them!”  
He stopped and looked at her. “And do you hate Onalesamkin, too?”  
“Ona? Oh.”

Part 20 Plague

She looked into Vhee's eyes, then turned her head away. She suddenly felt nauseous.  
“Vhee, put me down please, quickly! I'm going to be sick.”He did as she asked, and she retched into the grass. She retched again, painfully. She felt dizzy and hot. “Vhee, I don't feel so good,” she said, looking up at him.  
“No, Mistress, I suspect you don't. You must have the Plague.”  
“The Plague? Oh...the Stone... of course.” She lay prone on the grass, her head spinning. She had been exposed to the Plague the same way the rest of them had. She was going to die the same way.  
She began to laugh; the Plague-Bringer had caught the Plague.

The Master, who had walked some way ahead of them, turned at the sound, and retraced his steps. Laurasha looked up at him.  
“You lied to me,” she hissed. “You told me that the stone would not release its sickness straight away, that no-one would be killed.”  
“Laurasha, Laurasha,” he replied condescendingly. “The stone draws its strength from the person who uses it. You told me your powers were weak, that you were no longer a Warlock. It is you who lied. The deaths of all these sad creatures are your fault. Blame yourself for what happened.”  
He smiled at her. “But you have done me a great service, and for that I am grateful. These Worgen and their foolish master sought to overthrow me, here in my own realm! Did they really think they would be victorious?”

He turned to Vhee. “I will return to Sanctuary now. I have a lot of work to do.” With that he turned on his heel and walked away. Laurasha stared at his receding back, shocked by his indifference. She had done everything he had asked, and this was her reward. Her stomach heaved again, painfully. She wiped some bloody spittle from her mouth, and noticed for the first time a number of angry welts on her forearm. So this is how it is going to end, she thought; a painful death. Perhaps she deserved it. 

Vhee bent down and gently lifted her to her feet. Laurasha was horrified; didn't he know Plague was contagious?  
“Don't touch me! Get away,” she cried, and broke free from him. Her legs gave way and she fell to the ground. She tried to crawl away, but she didn't have the energy. She lay in the dirt, her head spinning, until Vhee once again picked her up. This time she was too weak to struggle.  
“This is becoming a habit,” he said, ruefully. 

He carried her through the woods until he reached his camp. He took her into his tent and placed her on the bed. There he tended to her while her fever raged. For three days she was close to death, but he remained at her side, caring for her while the Plague tore through her. On the fourth day, her fever broke, and she slept. Vhee stripped off her soiled clothes, and gently bathed her. When he had finished, he covered her in a fresh blanket, then he took her clothes and burnt them. For another four days she remained sick in bed, while Vhee fussed over her. She was very weak, but she had survived.

The following day she woke early. She felt well enough to sit up in the bed. She regarded her surroundings with real interest for the first time. Her travelling clothes were folded neatly beside her bed, and her pack lay close by. Other than that, the tent was bare. Gingerly, she reached over and pulled her pack towards her. At the very top was the goblet Ehnn had offered her back in the cave. It was clean; there was no traces of blood on it. She took it out of the bag and put it down, then searched in the pack for her mirror. When she found it, she lifted it up and stared at her reflection.  
She looked haggard. There were dark rings round her eyes, and her face looked thin. The skin around her nose was raw, and her lips were split.  
She sighed and put the mirror back in her bag. She picked up her clothes, and slowly dressed. She considered combing her hair, but decided it was too much effort. She moved to the entrance, pushed the tent flap aside, and walked out into the open air. Vhee was cooking something in a pot over a fire. He looked at her and smiled.  
“It's good to see you back on your feet again, Mistress,” he said. “I've made you something to eat.”  
He ladled some stew out of the cooking pot into a bowl, and offered it to her. She didn't feel hungry, but she took the bowl from him. He passed her a spoon, and bade her sit. She sat down and poked and prodded at the stew with her spoon with little enthusiasm, but eventually she began to eat. It took her nearly half an hour to finish it all, but she felt better for it.  
“Do you have anything to drink please, Vhee?” she asked.  
“Of course,” he replied, “but I only have a weak wine. Fresh, clean water is not easy to find in this forest.” He fetched a wineskin, and poured her some into a cup and passed it to her. It was indeed wine, and she drained the cup in a few seconds. Her lips stung from the alcohol. He offered her some more, but she refused, so he got some stew for himself and sat down to eat it. She watched silently as he ate. When he had finished, she broke the silence.

“Vhee, why didn't the Plague kill me?” He looked at her for a moment, then turned away.  
“I don't know; maybe the Fel in your blood protected you,” he said unconvincingly.  
“So what happens now?” she asked.  
“We will return you to Sanctuary as soon as you are fit to travel. You are best resting for a couple of days until you have your strength back, and then we can go.”  
“Vhee, I did what your Master wanted, I have fulfilled my obligation to help him. I don't want to go back to Sanctuary. I don't want to see the Master again.” He frowned, and stared into his food bowl.  
“Mistress, these woods are not safe. We have to return to Sanctuary, and as soon as possible. Trust me on this.”  
“Why should I trust you?” she replied angrily. “You gave me over to the Worgen. Thanks to you I nearly died back there.”  
He looked at her guiltily, but shook his head. “It wasn't like that. We had to trick Onalesamkin by offering you to him as bait. It was Ehnn's part to play the turncoat, and convince Ona that you were there as a servant of the Legion, something she did very well.”  
“Yes, that little bitch played her role to the full! I'm sure she took great pleasure in it! I hope she got the Plague too.“  
Vhee didn't reply, but got up and busied himself about the camp. Laurasha watched him for awhile, feeling guilty for her outburst. 

Her thoughts turned to Onalesamkin. None of what had happened made any sense to her. The Master had told her that the Black Nail had been his enemy for years, but Ona had been in Northrend less than a year ago. The Master had also kept the truth about Ona and the Black Nail being one and the same person from her. How had he even known that they knew each other?  
As for Ona himself, something terrible had happened to him, but what she couldn't imagine. When the Scourge had attacked him in Northrend, his spirit must have been corrupted, she guessed. It was the only thing that could explain his madness. Now Ona really was dead, and by her hand. Her mind conjured up an image of his body lying in the filthy cave where she had last seen him, his body surrounded by dead Worgen. He deserved better.  
“No, I won't leave you lying with those filthy creatures,” she said to herself. 

Later, when the fire died out, Laurasha returned to her tent, and slept for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening Vhee prepared a meal for them, and they ate together. She again tried to persuade him to help her find a way out of the forest, but he adamantly refused; returning to Sanctuary was the only choice. In the end she reluctantly agreed, but on one condition.  
“Vhee, I have to go back and bury Onalesamkin.”

Part 21 Ehnn 

Vhee was against returning to the Worgen camp, but Laurasha insisted. In the morning she had him take her there, despite his misgivings. She found the journey quite tiring, and was relieved when the palisade came into view. The front gate remained open, but there was no sign of the dead Worgen guards. They walked into the camp. Things were as she remembered, but there were no bodies to be seen anywhere.  
“Where are they? Where are the Worgen? They should still be here. Vhee, where are the bodies?” He shook his head. “I don't know, Mistress.”  
She walked around the camp, looking for any sign as to what had happened, but found nothing.  
She had been avoiding it, but finally she slowly walked up to the tunnel entrance, and peered inside.  
It was pitch black, and there was a bad smell coming from it. She stood, hesitating. The thought of going in there to find Onalesamkin's body suddenly seemed very difficult. She searched in her pack, but the lantern was not there. She forced herself to take a couple of steps forward, but terror rose in her, and she stopped. Vhee came to the tunnel entrance, and she clung on to him.  
“I can't do it, Vhee. I can't go back in there.” She spoke into the darkness; “Ona, I'm sorry.”  
Tears filled her eyes and she turned away. Just at that moment, she heard a noise behind her. She spun round, staring into the darkness. Something, was moving in there. Terrified, she turned on her heel and ran back to the gate. When she got there, she looked back to see what was happening.

Vhee hadn't moved, but was still standing in the cave entrance. A figure came out of the tunnel, and stopped to speak to him; it was Ehnn. Laurasha felt a mixture of relief and disappointment. Ehnn saw her by the gate and gave a wave. Laurasha didn't move, so the others walked over to her. Ehnn grinned at Laurasha.  
“Hello, Mistress,” she said. “Couldn't keep away?”  
“Why aren't you dead?” Laurasha demanded. Ehnn looked no different than when she had last seen her. Even her clothes looked clean on.  
“Should I be?” Ehnn replied, with a puzzled look on her face.  
“You were there when I broke the stone. You were as close as anyone to it. Why didn't you get the Plague?” Laurasha demanded.  
“Why didn't you get the Plague?” Ehnn repeated, in a mocking voice. Laurasha felt the urge to slap her face.  
“Answer me!”  
“All right, no need to raise your voice, Mistress. It's not my fault you caught it and I didn't. Don't take it out on me.” Laurasha sighed. She didn't have the energy to fight.  
“What were you doing in there just now?” she asked.  
“Not that it's any of your business, Mistress, but I was just making sure that there were no Worgen still down there. There aren't. They have all gone.”  
“But what's happened to them? What's happened to the corpses?” Laurasha asked curiously.  
“Hmm, well, it's kind of like this, see” Ehnn replied, “and you only have yourself to blame for it, but after a couple of days of lying around dead, and slowly rotting and stinking the place out, they all became undead. Right now they are probably running around, or rather, shambling around in the woods. They must be quite upset about the whole thing.”  
Laurasha stared at her, convinced it was yet another of her jokes. She looked at Vhee, but he shook his head and shrugged.  
“What about Ona?” she said. “What happened to him when...after I used the Stone?”  
Ehnn rolled her eyes. “What do you think happened to him, Mistress? He got the Plague, same as the rest! That was the plan from the start, wasn't it?”  
“Not Ona, please,” Laurasha begged. “I thought the Master wanted to take him alive.”  
“How am I supposed to know what the Master wants?” Ehnn replied. “I'm just a slave.”  
Laurasha ignored her. She had killed Ona, but it wasn't the Ona she knew, rather some warped and twisted Ona that had wanted to kill her. Perhaps it was best that he was dead, but if so why did she feel so guilty?  
“That's it then, the Master has won,” she said despondently.  
“It's not over yet, nuh-uh,” Ehnn replied, scowling.  
Laurasha looked at her, puzzled, but Ehnn remained silent. 

At that point, Vhee urged them to leave the Worgen camp and return to their own, so they set off and made their way back. Laurasha was exhausted by the day's events, and she went straight to bed once they arrived. In the morning Ehnn brought her breakfast. She seemed genuinely pleased when Laurasha ate it all. Laurasha was bewildered by the girl's behaviour, but she put her out of her mind and went back to sleep. By the late afternoon she felt well enough to get up and get dressed, and she sat by the camp fire while Vhee cooked the evening meal. He shared the food out between the three of them, and they ate mostly in silence. Ehnn complained that the food was over-cooked. Laurasha didn't agree, but she remained quiet; she had other things on her mind.

The next morning they packed up and began the journey back to Sanctuary. They trudged through the dreary forest, Vhee in the lead, with Ehnn flitting around him, and Laurasha in the rear. Every now and then Ehnn would say something provocative to Vhee, and either put her arm around him and hug him, or run into the woods shrieking with laughter. Laurasha found her behaviour very tiring, but Vhee seemed unaffected by it.  
As the day wore on, Laurasha began to get the feeling that they were being followed. She would hear the odd noise behind her, but every time she turned to look, there was nothing there. Gradually she became obsessed with the idea, and by the late afternoon she was so worried that she stopped Vhee and told him. He listened to what she had to say, and then slowly nodded.  
“The Worgen at the camp were only a small proportion of those under the Black Nail's command,” he said. “There are hundreds more in this forest. We are probably being followed by some of their scouts. It's best we get back to Sanctuary as soon as we can.”  
Ehnn shook her head. “You dunce, Vhee! I told you, Mistress; the Worgen from the camp are now undead and are wandering around in these woods. They are the ones who are following us, not some other group.”  
“How do you know that?”, Laurasha asked.  
“Isn't it obvious?, Ehnn replied, grinning. “They want revenge. They want to kill you, Mistress.”  
“Rubbish! You have no idea who is following us!”  
Ehnn put her hand to her ear. “Don't you hear them calling you, Mistress?” She raised her arms and stuck her hands out like claws. “Laauuurrrraaaasssshhhaaa!”she moaned. Lauuuuurrrrrasssssshhhhaaaa,” and then burst out laughing.

Laurasha shoved Ehnn hard, causing her to stumble and fall backwards. Ehnn lay on the ground with a look of surprise on her face. Then she got up and dusted herself down, checking her clothes for any sign of damage. Vhee came between them, before anything else could happen.  
“Come, we best be going. If what Ehnn says is true, we need to keep moving.”  
Laurasha was annoyed with herself for rising to the bait. She nodded and picked up her pack. 

They set off again with a brisker pace, and soon the sounds behind them, real or imagined, could no longer be heard. Gradually it began to get dark; sunset was not too far away. Laurasha was starting to lag behind the other two, tired by the long walk. She stopped and called out that she needed a short rest. Ehnn turned round and nodded, acknowledging that she had heard her. Laurasha sat down and took a wineskin out of her pack, and took a long draught. She looked back the way they had come, worried that something might be approaching her unawares, but there was nothing. She wondered if Ehnn was telling the truth or not about the Worgen.  
She sighed and got up, and stretched. Reluctantly she picked up her pack and began walking again. She expected them to be waiting for her where she had last seen them, but when she got there, there was no sign of them.  
“Thanks for waiting,” she shouted. There was no reply. She hurried to catch up, following the footprints in the dusty earth. It was only when the 'footprints' suddenly petered out that she realised she had gone the wrong way. Quickly she retraced her steps back to where she had been sitting earlier, but looking around in the gloom, she could not tell where the others had gone.  
“Vhee! Vhee! Come back! I'm lost,” she shouted. “Vhee!”

Part 22 Highs and Lows

A faint answering cry came back to her. It was Vhee, but he seemed a long way away, and she couldn't tell in what direction the shout had come from. She called again, and when he replied, she began to walk towards where she thought the voice was coming from.  
“Vhee, where are you?” she cried.  
“We are coming, Mistress, don't worry!”,Vhee shouted back. She judged the voice to have come from somewhere to her left, so she hurried in that direction. She saw a figure in the gloom, and rushed towards it, but when she got closer, she realised it was just a broken tree stump.  
“Vhee, I'm over here. Where are you?”There was no response. She waited, listening, but there was only silence. She took off her pack, and fumbled in it, searching for the lantern that Ehnn had given her back in the cave, but it wasn't there. She decided that staying where she was would be the most sensible option. She put her pack on the ground and waited, listening. A sudden rustle from somewhere behind her made her spin round. She couldn't see anything, it was too dark. Her heart hammered in her chest.  
“Vhee, is that you?” she said softly. There was no reply. She put her hand down, felt for her pack, and slowly lifted it from the ground. There was a sudden crash of breaking branches. She stopped and held her breath, terrified. Images of Worgen flashed through her mind. In her nightmares she could always see the Worgen that chased her, but this was somehow worse. She felt helpless in the dark. She slowly reached into her pack, and found the goblet that Ehnn had given her. She clutched it like a weapon, and held it tightly, ready to swing it at anything that came near. The sound of soft, deliberate movement came to her left. She turned in that direction, staring blindly into the dark, desperate to see her pursuer.  
“Mistress! Where are you?” Vhee shouted from close by. She jumped at the sound, and then her nerve broke. She dropped the pack and goblet and ran towards the voice in a panic, stumbling now and again over tree roots or sudden depressions in the ground. Once she ran into a tree, bruising her hand against its trunk.  
“Vhee, help me,” she screamed. She saw a light in front of her and rushed towards it. It was Vhee, holding a lantern. She ran up to him and almost threw herself onto him.  
“Vhee, something is after me! We have to get out of here!” she sobbed. He held her close and hugged her.  
“It's all right Mistress, it's all right.” He lifted his lantern and shone it's beam back the way she had come.  
“There is nothing there. Nothing is following you,” he said. She looked behind her, expecting at any second to see a pack of Worgen burst through the trees. She clung to him like a terrified child.  
“I hate this place,” she sobbed. “I don't want to be here any more. I want to go home.”  
She looked up into his face. He looked down sadly at her, and softly stroked her hair.  
“I know you do. I know you do, Mistress,” he said gently. “Come now, let's sit down while you get your breath back.”  
They sat down together, Laurasha still clinging to him. She leaned against his chest, hugging him close. Gradually her terror faded away and her breathing returned to normal.  
“Where's Ehnn?” she asked after a while.  
“She's still out looking for you. Don't worry, she will be all right.”  
“I'm not worrying,” she replied. Vhee continued to stroke her hair. His touch was innocent of desire, and Laurasha felt safe. As she lay against him, she began to feel very sleepy. Gradually she dozed off in his arms.

Later, when Vhee had made a fire and prepared their camp for the night, Ehnn reappeared. Laurasha didn't want another confrontation, so she just ignored her, but Ehnn wasn't ready to let it rest.  
“So, Mistress,” she said. “Did you see any Worgen, or should I say undead Worgen while you were running round in the woods?”  
“No I didn't if you must know,” Laurasha replied. “I think you made the whole thing up.”  
“Actually I didn't. They are following us just as I said. They want revenge. Who wouldn't?”  
Ehnn grinned at Laurasha with a superior look on her face. Laurasha felt her temper rising. She knew she was being goaded, but she couldn't help replying.  
“What is your problem, Ehnn? Why do you hate me so much?” she demanded.  
Ehnn replied haughtily “Should the slave girl love her Mistress for making her a slave?”  
“You are not my slave! Don't talk rubbish! You serve the Master, not me!”  
Ehnn mockingly bowed her head. “Yes, Mistress. Whatever you say Mistress.”  
“Ehnn, just shut up, will you? You worthless slut!”  
At which point Ehnn jumped up and ran out of the camp and into the darkness. Laurasha sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. Once again Ehnn had managed to make her the guilty party. She retired to her bed, depressed and unhappy.

In the morning they broke camp early and made their way back to the mountain pass. Laurasha was glad to get out from under the trees. The air seemed a lot more fresh and wholesome. The nightmare of the Worgen camp and all the events connected to their trip there had been left behind. Her lips and nose were still sore, but her strength had improved enough for her to make the first part of their climb up the pass without much effort.  
By mid-morning they were well above the tree canopy, and Laurasha stopped to look at the view. The forest spread as far as the eye could see in all directions. Somehow she had expected it to look different than how she remembered it from the descent, but it was the same. She was determined that once she had fully recovered, she would come back and try and find her way out of it, one way or another. She had no intention of being at the Master's mercy for long. Something at the bottom of the trail caught her attention. From where she was, it was difficult to see clearly, but there was no mistaking figures climbing the path below them.  
“Look!” she cried, pointing down the slope. Ehnn nodded, and broke into a grin.  
“I told you, Mistress. It's the undead Worgen. They are following us.”  
Laurasha scowled at her, but didn't respond. Vhee stared down the path. It was true; a large group of Worgen were following them.  
“They don't appear to be moving very fast. We have maybe a two hour lead on them at this point,” he said.  
“We best get moving, then,” Laurasha replied. Vhee nodded, and they carried on up the trail.

As they ascended, the way got steeper, and by mid-day Laurasha was tiring. She had to stop for breath more and more often, and with each break the pursuers got closer, as they never stopped to rest. Laurasha pushed herself, reluctant to let them close the gap, but it became harder and harder to maintain the distance between them, the higher up the trail they climbed. A couple of hours later she had to stop. She sat down heavily. She was trembling and felt sick.  
“Vhee, I have to rest for a bit,” she said, panting.  
“The Worgen are getting too close, we can't stop now,” Ehnn said impatiently.  
“The pass is only a short distance away, Mistress,” Vhee replied. “Are you sure you can't carry on a bit longer?”  
“No, no. I need to stop, just for a bit until I get my breath back.”  
She lay back on the ground, and closed her eyes. Her mind swam with random images, of the Worgen, of the Master, of A'dal. Within a minute she was asleep. Vhee watched over her while she slept. Ehnn sat close to the edge of the cliff, watching the Worgen unhurriedly climbing towards them. She produced a nail file and tended to her finger nails for a while and then began throwing small stones down towards the Worgen. A grin played across her face while she counted their numbers. There were at least fifty of them.

Vhee let Laurasha sleep for an hour before he woke her. Laurasha felt a lot better for her rest, but she was shocked that the Worgen were now so close behind them on the trail. They gathered their things together and pushed on towards the summit, maintaining a gap between them and the Worgen until they got to the pass. The sheer walls of the narrow passage towered into the sky above them, hundreds of feet high. Ehnn entered the cleft first, scuttling over the loose rocks and gravel without effort. Laurasha followed her, cautiously watching each footstep to make sure she didn't trip or stumble, and Vhee took the rear. They were halfway through the pass when the earthquake struck.

Part 23 The Rest of the Journey

The ground beneath Laurasha's feet shook, but she managed to stay on her feet. Startled, she looked around. Vhee and Ehnn seemed as surprised as she was.  
“What was that?” she asked Vhee.  
“We have to get out of the pass,” he said. “Hurry!”  
Ehnn shot off ahead of them, and Laurasha followed her as fast as she could, but the ground was still a mass of stones and small rocks, and keeping her footing wasn't easy. The ground suddenly groaned and shook violently, throwing Laurasha against the nearest wall. She lost her balance, and fell on her hands and knees. A rumbling noise filled the air, and small stones fell around her. The shaking stopped, but grinding noises echoed from the cliffs on either side, and a rain of dust and gravel fell from above.  
Laurasha got to her feet, her hand held protectively above her head as the pebbles came down. She looked back to see Vhee had fallen on the ground beneath his heavy pack. She rushed to help him, but he shook his head.  
“I'm fine Mistress, don't stop, we have to get out of here.”  
She hesitated, torn between wanting to help him and running. Vhee managed to get to his feet. Seeing he was all right, she turned and ran after Ehnn, who had disappeared from sight. A large stone crashed to the ground in front of Laurasha, and she stopped and cried out in fright.  
“Keep going,” he shouted.  
She jumped over the stone and ran, somehow keeping her balance despite the treacherous surface. More and more debris fell into the narrow pass. The ground heaved again, and a deafening grinding noise filled the air. A massive slab of rock came away from the cliff and crashed down into the pass . Laurasha screamed as a wall of dust and flying debris hit her, and she stumbled and fell to the ground. She was blinded by the dust, and she could taste dirt in her mouth. She crawled on her hands and knees, choking and disorientated. 

A hand grabbed her arm, and hauled her to her feet. She was dragged along forcibly, coughing and spluttering, unable to see. She tripped and fell three times, but each time she was pulled up and forced onwards again. The avalanche continued, and fresh clouds of dust blew down the narrow passage, blocking out the light and turning day into night. The deafening roar ceased, and an eerie silence fell. Laurasha coughed and spat dirt from her mouth, then rubbed at her eyes to clear them. Her nose was full of dust, and she sneezed uncontrollably. Finally the sneezing fit passed. She looked round to see Ehnn standing beside her. The girl was staring back towards the pass, which was still choked with dust.  
“Where's Vhee?” Laurasha asked. Ehnn didn't reply, but remained silently gazing back the way they had come. Laurasha felt dread rising in her. She stood up and grabbed Ehnn's wrist, dragging her round to look at her.  
“I said, where is Vhee?”  
Ehnn pulled her arm free. She stared angrily at Laurasha, and Laurasha stared back, furious. Ehnn's eyes filled her vision like two black pits, and they bored into Laurasha's own, causing her to recoil. Ehnn turned away, and the moment was broken.  
“He is still in there. He's buried under the rubble,” Ehnn said, once more looking back to the pass.  
“How do you know? You don't know that,” Laurasha shouted.  
“No, I do know,” Ehnn said. “I can no longer feel his presence. He has gone.”  
Laurasha bit back a reply, and stared back at the pass. Where there had once been a narrow cleft, there was now just a wall of broken rock and scree. There was no sign of Vhee. Ehnn began to walk away, but when Laurasha didn't move she called back.  
“We have to go. It will be dark soon, and we have lost all of our supplies and equipment. We can't stay here.”  
“I'm not leaving him,” Laurasha replied defiantly, her bottom lip trembling. “He might still be alive.” She started walking back towards the pass.  
“Mistress, come back right now,” Ehnn cried, but Laurasha ignored her and started to run. Ehnn chased after her, and seeing her following, Laurasha ran towards the pass as fast as she could, but Ehnn caught up and grabbed her arm, bringing her to a dead stop.  
“Get off me,” Laurasha screamed. “I have to help Vhee!”  
Ehnn replied angrily, pulling her back “He's gone! He isn't coming back! You can't help him.”  
“Leave me alone, will you?” Laurasha sobbed. “Why can't you all just leave me alone?"  
The fight went out of Laurasha. She stood there weeping. Ehnn took Laurasha's hand, and slowly led her away from the pass and down the mountain. She joked and talked as they went, but Laurasha remained withdrawn and unresponsive, though the tears continued to roll down her face unabated.  
As it grew dark, Ehnn found a small cliff to shelter them from the wind, and sat Laurasha down in its lee. A small copse of withered trees grew nearby, and Ehnn spent a good hour foraging in the darkness for firewood. She returned some time later with an armful of branches. She put them into a pile and set them alight with a whispered command. As the flames took, she made Laurasha sit closer to the fire. Laurasha stared into it, listlessly, her knees drawn up to her chest. Later, Laurasha lay down and cried herself to sleep. Ehnn sat close to the fire and stared down into the valley, her beautiful face marred by an evil scowl.

The night passed slowly for Ehnn, but dawn came eventually, bleak and unforgiving. The fire had died out in the early morning, and there was no food or drink to be had for breakfast. Ehnn woke Laurasha, and a short time later they set out once again. By mid-day they were back on the road that led to the Elven ruins. The great tree towered in front of them, seemingly larger than ever, its massive boughs moving in the cold wind blowing down from the mountain behind them.  
Ehnn strode down the road, the click-click of her high-heeled shoes on the hard surface the only sound to be heard. Ehnn held Laurasha's hand tightly, forcing her to keep moving. Laurasha was lost in the depths of depression. She was hungry and thirsty and her body ached from head to toe, but it all paled in comparison to the crushing despair she had felt since Vhee's death.  
Finally they reached the house. Ehnn dragged Laurasha up the stairs and along the corridor that led to her bedroom. Once they got there, Ehnn stripped Laurasha of her dirty clothes and made her get into bed. Laurasha buried her head in the pillow, and pulled the covers over herself; within minutes she was asleep. Ehnn stood watching her for a while and then quietly left the room. As she closed the door behind her she gave a wry smile and then said, “Sweet dreams, Mistress, sweet dreams.”

Part 24 The Welcome Guest 

The next morning, Laurasha awoke to find the Master standing next to her bed. Ehnn stood close by, with a breakfast tray in her hands.  
“So, here we are once again. Back where we started,” he said, staring down at her. “Despite your best attempts to defeat me, I have been victorious.”  
“What do you mean?” Laurasha replied. He looked at her with disgust.  
“You sought to lead an army of undead Worgen into Sanctuary. If I had not brought down the walls of the pass upon them, who knows what might have happened?”  
“No, that's not true. I did nothing of the sort.”  
“Laurasha, why do you try to deny what you are? An evil, twisted creature, who only lives to bring misery and death to those around her. It is a pity you did not suffer the same fate as your Worgen, crushed under all that rock. It was what you deserved.”  
“They were not 'my' Worgen,” she replied defensively.  
He smiled at her. “It doesn't matter. They are truly dead now, thanks to me. Such a pity that Vhee had to die too because of your antics. Anyway, what is done is done.” He gestured towards the door. “I would like you to meet another of my servants. Bruw, you can come in now.”  
The door opened, and a very large man stepped through the door. He was dark-skinned, standing close to seven feet tall, and was heavily muscled. He was bare-chested, extremely hairy, and held a large metal club in his hand. He looked more like an ogre than a human.  
“This is Bruw,” the Master said, grinning. “He is going to take you to your new quarters.” He clapped his hands together happily, and smiled. He turned and headed for the door. As he got there, he stopped and looked back. “Just one more thing. Enjoy the rest of your stay.” With that he left.

Ehnn stood holding the tray with a confused look on her face. Bruw moved further into the room, staring at Laurasha. She pulled the covers up to her chin, aware that she had nothing on beneath them. Bruw just smiled back, unspeaking, then lunged forward and grabbed her arm, before forcibly pulling her from the bed. She screamed and fought back, but was powerless against his strength. He dragged her through the doorway and along the corridor, then down the stairs. By the time they reached the bottom, she was badly bruised. He stopped near the front door to open it, and Laurasha took the chance to bite his hand. He grunted, then raised his club, and brought it crashing down on her skull. 

Laurasha awoke in a cell. There were no furnishings, just bare walls, and the floor was cold and covered in a thin film of dirty water. A dim light shone through a barred window in the door. She gingerly felt the top of her head. It was extremely tender, and it felt sticky to the touch. Her arm felt like it had been pulled out of its socket, and her knees were skinned and bloody. She tried the door but it was locked. She was no longer a guest but a prisoner.

Part 25 No hope

Life in her prison cell quickly became unbearable for Laurasha. Each day followed a similar routine; Ehnn would bring her a breakfast of rotten-tasting gruel, and then she was given a slop bucket to use. The first time it had happened she had refused to use the bucket in front of Bruw, but when the bucket was then removed along with her breakfast bowl, she had had no other option but to reluctantly squat in the corner of her cell later in the day, and that was a lesson she didn't need to learn a second time. The rest of the day was spent interminably sitting or lying on the cold wet floor of her cell, until Ehnn finally brought her her evening meal; yet another bowl of the disgusting gruel. Then the pattern would be repeated the next day.

At first Laurasha had begged and pleaded with first Ehnn and then with Bruw to be let out of her cell, but to no avail. Once she had even tried to escape through the open door when Ehnn brought her one of her meals, but Bruw had caught her and he took great pleasure in beating her senseless; she didn't try that again. Another time she had called for help through the bars on her door, but the only reply she got was a terrible moaning that went on and on for hours. The sound was so disturbing that she had had to block her ears with her fingers until it stopped.

Forced to lie or sit in the dirty water of her cell day and night, Laurasha's skin became covered in sores that made things even more unpleasant. As the days passed her mood sank lower and lower, until the thought of dying seemed preferable to staying alive in such a terrible place. Eventually she refused to eat her food, throwing the bowl back at Ehnn each time it was put in front of her. Finally Ehnn turned on her.  
“Mistress, you have to eat,” she demanded.  
“What do you care?” Laurasha wearily answered.  
“Look, if you don't eat you are going to make things worse.”  
Laurasha replied angrily, ”just leave me alone, will you? I won't eat any more of that filth.”  
Ehnn cursed. She idly played with her hair while frowning at Laurasha. Bruw remained unmoving by the door.  
“Look! If you care for anyone other than yourself, you have to eat.”  
“The truth is, Ehnn, that I don't care about anyone else; not you, not the Master, and certainly not Bruw! There is no-one left alive that I care about, not even myself.”  
Ehnn pouted. “Not even Onalesamkin? I thought you cared about him.”  
“Ona is dead, and I killed him. Just go away.” She turned her back on Ehnn and stared into space, lost in her own despair.  
Ehnn put her hands on her hips. She glowered at Laurasha, a faint light burning in her eyes.  
“Right, I have had enough of this. I will have to take matters into my own hands once again it seems.” With that she turned on her heel and strode out of the cell, and Bruw slammed the door shut behind her. Laurasha painfully laid herself down in the dirty water, curled into a ball and hoped it would all go away.

Part 25 The Farewell

A short time later, Laurasha heard the key turning in the door of her cell. She sat up, frowning. Why wouldn't they just leave her alone? The door opened and Ehnn appeared. She marched up to Laurasha and grabbed her by the arm.  
“Come on, it's time for us to go.” She hauled Laurasha to her feet, and pulled her towards the door. Laurasha resisted.  
“Where is Bruw?” she demanded, scared that the monster would be waiting for her outside the door.  
“Oh well, I only needed his key and it wasn't hard to get it off him either, the stupid creature,” Ehnn replied. She pulled Laurasha through the door and into the narrow corridor outside her cell. She tugged Laurasha along behind her.  
“Come on, we don't have all day, you know.”

A short distance down the corridor Ehnn stopped before a large wooden door. She pulled out a key, and turned it in the lock. She pulled hard on the handle, and the door slowly opened, protesting with squealing hinges and a loud scraping noise as its bottom dragged along the stone floor. As the door opened, a stench of rot and decay burst outwards from the opening. Laurasha almost gagged as she breathed in the foul odour. Ehnn dragged her into the room. Laurasha's bare feet squelched in a vile sticky fluid on the floor, and she shuddered.  
Ehnn stood in the centre of the room; a dark form lay on the floor at her feet. As Laurasha came close she saw it was Onalesamkin. His clothes were filthy and soiled. His face was covered in blood, as well as a strange yellow sludge. Beneath the dirt and fluid, she could see his skin was covered in pustules, swollen with disease. They were somewhat similar to her own sores, but much worse. The great nail was still stuck in his temple. The horrific sight cut Laurasha to the core. She fell on her knees beside him, and slowly reached out a hand to touch his face.  
“Ona?” she said softly. As her hand touched his skin, his eyes fluttered open. He took some time to focus on her face, then recognition sparked in his eyes. He groaned and turned his head away slightly.  
“Haven't you tortured me enough?” he whispered. “Why won't you let me die?”  
“Ona, it's me, Laurasha,” she said as she reached out to him. He cringed away from her touch. “Leave me be, Warlock,” he whispered. “If I had the strength I would kill you with my bare hands. I curse the day I saved your life, as you have cursed me with this undeath.”  
Laurasha recoiled from him.  
“No, it wasn't me, I didn't do this,” she protested, but Ona had lapsed into a delirium, and only moans came from his lips. Laurasha wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come. She had never felt so awful. She looked up to see Ehnn yawning, and anger took hold of her.  
“Why did you bring me here, Ehnn, you heartless bitch?”, she railed.  
A light gleamed in Ehnn's eyes.  
“I brought you here to show you what the Master has planned for you. He intends to make you suffer just like the Druid. But I'm not going to let that happen, because I have no intention of staying here, even if you do. Now come on, we have to get out of here before Bruw wakes up.” With that she strode to the door, and waited for Laurasha to follow her.  
“Ehnn, I can't leave Ona like this. I have to do something.”  
Ehnn crossed her arms, a pained look on her face. Laurasha was at a loss what to do. How could she even begin to help Ona?  
“Please, Ehnn, I'm begging you. Help me! I can't bear this!”  
Ehnn shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Fine!” she retorted. “Just don't blame me when the Master finds out!”  
She reached down and tapped the spike sticking out of Ona's head. “You have to take that out. His suffering won't end until you remove it.”  
Laurasha reached out gingerly, and tried to get hold of the metal spike, but it was coated in slime, and try as she might, she could not get a firm grip on it.  
“I can't do it! It won't move!”, she cried. She tried again to pull the spike from his head, but she had no more luck than on her previous attempt. Every time she tried to pull it, Ona shuddered, and more blood and slime dripped from the wound.  
“This is hopeless,” she cried. “I'm just making it worse.”  
“You have to get it out,” Ehnn retorted. “Don't give up so easily.”  
“You do it then!” Laurasha shouted back.  
“If you can't pull it out, then there is only one thing left for you to do. You will have to destroy it.”  
Laurasha looked at her bewildered. “How?”  
“It's not metal. It's ironwood; it's alive. It will die if you burn it.”  
“Oh right, So I just set fire to Ona's head? Don't be stupid!”  
“Fine, leave him there to suffer then. See if I care,” snapped Ehnn.  
With that she flounced out of the room. Laurasha turned back to Onalesamkin. Doubt and despair fought within her. How could she trust anything Ehnn said? If only Vhee was here, she thought, but Vhee was gone. Ona groaned loudly, his face racked with pain. He whispered something, and she bent her head closer to listen.  
“Please, let me die.”  
“Ona, I'm so so sorry.” She brought her cracked lips to his, and softly kissed him. 

She sat up, and focussed on the spike. She called words to mind that she had never wanted to say again, and spoke them softly. Nothing happened. She said the words louder, now feeling the power building within her. She felt the urge to let the magic take hold of her, to give her the strength to destroy everything, if only she would give it free rein once again, but she resisted, only letting it out briefly. 

A black fire flared on the side of Onalesamkin's head, as the spell took hold of the spike. Laurasha watched aghast as the spike wiggled slowly out of his head, the darkness burning greedily into it. It dropped to the floor with a clang, writhing in darkness, and then it stopped moving.  
Ehnn spoke from the doorway. “You did it! I really didn't think you would,” she said with a grin. Laurasha ignored her. She bent close to Onalesamkin and studied the side of his skull; the hole had closed completely. His eyes opened, and he looked at her. For the first time since she had met him in that awful place, the madness seemed to have gone from his face.  
“Laurasha,?” he said quietly, and then closed his eyes for the last time. The breath went out of him, and he lay unmoving. She stroked his face softly.  
“You should have left me to die, just like you said. Why didn't you just let me die?”  
A white flame suddenly sprang up from his body, forcing her to turn away. A great roaring noise filled the room, and then ceased. Laurasha turned back to find that the body was gone. There was no sign that Onalesamkin had ever been there, save for the charred piece of ironwood close to where his head had been.  
“Oops, it seems you have really gone and done it now,” said Ehnn.

Part 26 The Moonwell Revisited

Laurasha remained unmoving, spent by her efforts. Ehnn ran back into the room and grabbed her, hoisting her to her feet.  
“Come on, we have to get out of here.”  
She led Laurasha through the door, but rather than going back the way they had come, she turned in the other direction and strode purposefully into the gloomy corridor ahead. Laurasha followed Ehnn without protest; she had no strength left to resist, nor any desire to. A distant howl sounded somewhere behind them.  
“Did you hear that?” Ehnn said. “It's Bruw. I don't think he is very happy by the sound of it.”  
Laurasha stumbled and fell to the floor. She was too exhausted to go any further. Ehnn reached out and grabbed Laurasha's hand, pulling her forward onto her knees.  
“Leave me alone, will you? I'm sick of you putting your hands on me,” Laurasha snapped, pulling her hand away. Ehnn stamped her foot, scowling.  
“Listen, Mistress,” she hissed. “You got me into this mess, and you are going to get me out of it, whether you like it or not!”  
She again pulled Laurasha to her, and then scooped her up in her arms, as if she weighed no more than a child. She moved forward at double her previous pace, a pale gleam in her eyes and a look of determination on her face. As Ehnn carried her through a maze of rooms and corridors, many of them pitch black, Laurasha began to doze off. At one point she was convinced that it was Vhee carrying her, somehow returned from the dead to rescue her, but then she heard the click-click of Ehnn's stilettos and realised her mistake. Some time later a cold breeze blew across Laurasha's face, rousing her from her slumber. A dim light over to her left intruded into her vision.

“Where are we?” she asked groggily.  
“We are in the temple,” Ehnn replied quietly. “We had to take the long way round to avoid Bruw.”  
“What are we doing here? I thought we were going back to my room.”  
“No, Mistress, things have gone too far for that. Now shush, it's not far now.” With that she trotted towards the dim light in the distance. As they got closer, the light became brighter, and broke up into separate sources. It was the Moonwell. The lights surrounding the pool still shone, but only dimly. A black, tarry ooze covered the floor, stretching out beyond the original confines of the Moonwell, and a sickly stench filled the air.

Ehnn stopped at the edge of the sludge, put Laurasha gently on the ground, and then strode a few feet into it. There was a hissing sound, and smoke erupted from her shoes. She quickly ran back out of the ooze and tore her shoes off. The sludge ate into them, quickly melting them away.  
“Damn it! Those shoes were my favourites,” she cried. “Oh well, I guess I won't be needing them any more, anyway.”  
She shrugged, and then studied the black goo. “Hmm let's see,” she said, and then reached down and put her finger into the sludge. She pulled a tarry lump out, studied it closely, and then cautiously smelt it.  
“Yep, I knew it! Devious old goat!”

At that moment two figures appeared on the other side of the circle. It was the Master and Bruw.  
“Well, well”, the Master called. “ I see you have returned to the scene of your crime, Warlock.”  
Laurasha tiredly looked back at him from where she sat on the ground, but did not reply.  
“I applaud you. I really thought I had broken you, but it appears I have misjudged you once again. First you raised an undead army from the Druid's Worgen, and now despite being locked away and guarded by my most trusty servant, Bruw, you have managed to get out of your cell and free the Druid.”  
He shook his head grudgingly. “All that nonsense about giving up on your past and renouncing your evil ways had me totally fooled. As for you, Ehnn, how dare you disobey me! You are going to be punished for this, make no mistake!”  
Ehnn laughed. “No, I don't think so. This farce has gone on long beyond the point where it is fun any more,” she retorted. “You took Vhee away from me. That was your first and last mistake. I think it's time to end this charade.”  
There was a tearing sound, and the back of Ehnn's top suddenly ripped apart. Two leathery wings sprang out from her back. At the same time, two horns tore through her skull, and a long tail appeared from her backside. Her feet melted away, and hooves appeared in their place.  
“Oh, that feels so good!”, she said ecstatically, stretching her wings out. The Master folded his arms, and slowly nodded at Laurasha.  
“I see you have broken my hold over the Succubus. Good work once again, Warlock. No-one has broken my illusions before; no-one! I see that you still possess great power, and once I have put a nail in your skull, I will be able to tap into that power myself! Bruw, kill the demon and bring the girl to me.”  
With that the Master pulled out a black spike and held it up for Laurasha to see. “I'm going to enjoy hammering this into your face.”  
Laurasha tried to stand, but her legs felt like they were made of lead. She cried out in terror as Bruw ran around the pool. Ehnn laughed, and then clapped her clawed hands.“Oh really, is there any point to this conversation? It's time to say goodbye.”  
She reached down and grabbed hold of Laurasha and hauled her to her feet. Bruw lumbered forward and raised his club menacingly. Ehnn sprang into the air, carrying Laurasha with her. She flew over Bruw and hovered above the centre of the bubbling Moonwell.  
“What are you doing?” Laurasha cried. Ehnn laughed.  
“Why I'm having fun. Aren't you, Mistress?”  
With that she let go and Laurasha fell into the black sludge. Where it touched her, her skin blistered and bled.  
“Quickly, Bruw! Get her out of there,” the Master shouted. Bruw ran forward, but had to stop at the edge of the Moonwell or risk becoming a victim of it himself.  
“Use your club, idiot,” the Master howled. Bruw leant forward and stuck his club out, but he was short of reaching Laurasha with it. Laurasha struggled to keep afloat in the sludge, her body burning horribly in the foul fluid. Above her, Ehnn flew round, laughing hysterically. Finally, Laurasha was able to reach out and grab Bruw's club. He began to haul her back to the bank, until Ehnn intervened. She suddenly swooped down, and stood on Laurasha's shoulders, pushing her under the surface.  
“Oh no you don't! Goodbye, Mistress,” she said. “You better remember who it was that saved you.”  
Laurasha's whole body was on fire, and the sludge was in her nose and mouth. A roaring sound filled her ears, and bright lights flashed in her head. A few seconds later she lost consciousness.

Epilogue One

Laurasha woke suddenly. She sat bolt upright, terrified. She was in the cave; it was morning. She lay back down, her pulse racing. She had had another nightmare, but this had been one of the worst yet. When would she ever be free of them? She lay there awhile, until the fear was gone. She tried to remember what she had dreamt, but all she could remember was that Onalesamkin had been in it and an evil Elf, and of course, Worgen. 

She got up and dressed; the chill damp air made her shiver as she quickly pulled her clothes on. She thought longingly of her comfortable bed in Shattrath. It would be good to get back there. By the entrance, the fire had burnt itself out during the night.  
“Vhee?” she called. “I thought you were supposed to keep the fire going?”. She stopped. Why had she called Volyap,'Vhee'? She shook her head. She had been out in the woods too long with only her demons for company. She sighed. It was time to go home. She gathered her things together, and walked to the cave mouth. The imp was sitting by the remains of the fire, playing with an unburned branch. A wave of emotion welled up in her. She knelt down and lifted the imp to her and hugged him close.  
“Don't you ever leave me again, you silly creature, do you hear me?” she said, tears in her eyes. V olyap struggled in her grip, so she put him down. He looked curiously at her, and then came back to her and jumped into her lap and hugged her. She tickled him under the chin, and hugged him once more before putting him gently down.  
“Come on, Volyap, it's time to get out of here,” she said, and picking up her pack she walked off into the woods. 

Epilogue Two

The Master walked back to the house alone. Above him, the Splinter of Xavius rocked slowly in the wind. It's massive trunk towered high into the sky, but it was no longer clad in the illusion of a mighty oak tree. A million ironwood thorns crowded together on its trunk and branches. It towered over the house in the form of a gigantic razorthorn, and it was the source of the Master's power.

The Master headed down the stairs into the labyrinth beneath the house. He was no longer in Elf form, but had shifted back to being the Satyr he always was. He was angry; angry with himself for letting the warlock get the better of him. He had been foolish to underestimate her, very foolish.  
He walked past the empty cells where he had kept the druid and the warlock prisoner, and strode on. Finally he came to a solid wooden door. He undid the locks and opened it. Lying on the floor was a small child, asleep. He roughly shook the child awake.  
“Time to wake up, and do your duty,” he said angrily.  
The child looked at him, and then started to cry. The sound of her weeping reverberated round and round the room, the sound building louder and louder. Within moments it had become deafening, and the Master quickly left the room and slammed the door shut before locking it. He smiled. Somewhere on Azeroth, someone who was asleep would hear the crying, and would follow it into the Emerald Dream. He would be waiting, ready to ensnare their soul in the Emerald Nightmare, just as he had with the druid and the warlock. This time, though, they would not escape.

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the story before reading any further!  
> Wow! That took a lot longer to write than I ever imagined. It was a bit of a struggle to write, and I'm glad it's finished at long last. Originally I wrote one chapter a week and posted that on Stormwind Academy's forums, whose guild I used to belong to. I tried to end each chapter with either a cliff-hanger or a hook of some kind, just to keep people reading. It's probably less effective now it can be read all in one go; who knows!
> 
> My thanks to Onalesamkin for putting the idea into my head in the first place, and letting me have pretty much free rein with his character in this story. I used and abused him quite a lot, but I hope it added to rather than detracted from his other stories if you have read them.  
> The events in this tale relate directly to those found in Ona's stories. This story takes place between Ona dying in Northrend and waking up in the Emerald Dream in cat form. I don't know if these stories can be found anywhere on the internet nowadays. I do know an earlier version of this story is floating around on the internet, but I said at the time that I was unhappy with it, particularly the last few chapters, and now I have rewritten them, so that old version is no longer relevant. This the proper story, the Director's Cut so to speak!
> 
> Spoilers
> 
> In case you are completely confused by the events in this story, here is some more information. 
> 
> Like in most nightmares, some quite unpleasant things happened. I wanted to include some of the things that haunt my own nightmares, such as the fear of being chased and being unable to run, the fear of being naked in front of strangers, and the fear of having to use the toilet (hm!) in front of strangers, too. As for Laurasha, she had plenty of fears of her own, which the Master readily incorporated into her own personal nightmare.
> 
> Some explanation of the characters is now due. Vhee is Volyap the Imp, Ehnn is Naztai the Succubus, Bruw is Brufenn the Felhound. They are all Laurasha's demons in-game, though they don't get much of an airing since MoP came out. I changed their names because people in my former guild knew the names of my demons quite well, so I didn't want them to know that they were the same characters when they read the story.  
> The Master used Laurasha's demons against her, and they were unable to tell her what was going on or disobey his orders. Ehnn/Naztai was crafty enough to twist the Master's actions against him throughout the story, however, and in the end she did manage to loose his hold over her through her own demonic cunning. It was she who left the Plague Stone under the table so Laurasha could find it, and she also raised the undead Worgen to fight against the Master, but was foiled by the avalanche. As a Succubus, it was quite easy for her to con Bruw into giving her the key to Laurasha's and Ona's cells. Is Laurasha the heroine in this story or is it Ehnn/Naztai?
> 
> The Black Nail or rather, the ironwood thorn in Ona's head came from the Splinter of Xavius. It pinned him to the Nightmare, and kept him alive despite the various tortures the Master put him through. When Laurasha destroyed it, Ona's soul was able to escape and return to the Emerald Dream. Luckily for Laurasha the Master didn't get round to using a Nail on her before her escape, or things would not have ended at all well, but it's my story, so he lost, well almost.
> 
> The Moonwell was indeed once a Moonwell, but was corrupted by the Master long ago. Laurasha did not corrupt it by touching it; she merely broke the illusion the Master had placed upon it, and did that make him angry! The crying child is an unknown entity. Some mysteries are best left unexplained!
> 
> I was asked why Laurasha loved her Imp so much. Back when I wrote this, there was a spell called Blood pact, which linked the Imp and the Warlock together. Also, I use to use the Imp almost exclusively back then, before fire got split from Affliction and put into Destro, and the Imp was no longer that useful for Affliction.
> 
> Thanks for reading, I really hope you liked it.  
> Alison C. 01/2014.


End file.
